Political Science TEST 2

agenda setting

people in government/ congress have to put a societal problem in their lives

policy formulation

people in government try to find the cause of the problem

Policy Legitimation

a proposed bill goes through the legislation and becomes law with or without resident signature.

resource allocation

funded on an annual basis to spend money on policies that have been legitimized

policy implementation

government officials put that new law/ policy into effect, they are bureaucrats or civil servants

policy evaluation

If the policy is not effective, solving the problem it was supposed to solve

legislative (congress)

makes laws, controls the budget, and can declare war. 

executive branch (president, vice president, and cabinet)

enforces laws, conducts foreign policy, and commands the armed forces. 

judicial branch (supreme court and lower federal courts)

interprets laws, reviews laws for constitutionality, and resolves disputes between states or between the federal government and the states. 

3 qualifications for president and vice president

natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the United States for at least 14 years. 

presidential and vice term of office

4 years

22^nd Amendment (1951)

limits presidents to two terms in office

12th Amendment (1804)

revised the process for electing the president and vice-president, requiring separate votes for each office. 

23rd Amendment (1961)

District of Columbia residents the right to vote

presidents expressed powers

sign or veto legislation, commander in chief of the military, pardon people found or a national or federal crime, temporary delay in punishment on the national level, negotiate treaties, nominate ambassadors, judges, cabinet members

delegate powers

budgeting and Accounting Act of (1921), War Powers Act (1973), nation emergence act of (1976)

inherent powers

executive orders, executive privileges, executive agreements, signing statements

unitary executive theory

the President of the United States has sole authority over the executive branch

imperial presidency

a U.S. presidency that is characterized by a greater power than the Constitution allows.

challenges to the president

achieving their goals, the constitutional separation of primary governing, a system of checks and balances, media, presidential approval ratings,

leverage the president may have to accomplish his goals

“bully pulpit, “going public, approval ratings, polls, crisis, and rallying around the flag (unified government)

U.S. president’s roles

nation’s leader (inherent); commander-in-chief (enumerated and delegated); top diplomat (enumerated & inherent); first legislator (enumerated & delegated & inherent); chief bureaucrat (chief executive officer--CEO) (enumerated, delegated, & inherent); economist-in-chief (delegated & enumerated); head of state (inherent); party leader (tradition)

Vice president Article I powers/responsibilities

The Vice President presides over the Senate, but only has a vote to break a tie.

Vice President Article II powers/responsibilities

to succeed the President in case of death, resignation, or removal, and to preside over the Senate, breaking ties with a vote

25^th Amendment

the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress

Cabinet

secretaries of 15 departments, vice president, and other government officials as determined by the president

Executive Office of the President (EOP)

White House Office: The chief of staff is the primary gatekeeper to the president; Office of Management & Budget (OMB); Council of Economic Advisers (CEA); National Security Council (NSC)

public expectations of first lady (traditional responsibilities)

provide informal advice, advocating for particular policies, and undertaking a host of symbolic, yet important functions

White House Personnel Authorization Act (1978)

authorized funding for additional staff in the White House Office to support the President in executing official duties.

Association of American Physicians & Surgeons, Inc.

et al. vs. Hillary Rodham Clinton et al. (1993)

a lawsuit challenging the secrecy of the Health Care Task Force led by First Lady Hillary Clinton, arguing that it violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)

popular sovereignty

the authority of a government is created and sustained by the consent of its people

Bureaucrats

political appointees (patronage system); serve at the pleasure of the president or fixed terms; civil servants (merit based, civil service system); job protections; fire for cause (mal-feasance, mis-feasance, non=feasance); due process before fired, Expectations of bureaucracies & bureaucrats; efficiency; effectiveness; responsiveness; accountability; equal treatment; neutral competence

Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)

attempt to improve the quality of public service; this act was an effort to get rid of corruption and improve the quality of government service, hired based on skills, abilities, knowledge

Hatch Act (1939 plus amendments)

restricts the partisan political activity of civil executive branch employees of the federal government, the district of the Columbia government, and some state and local employees who work in connection with federally funded programs

Civil Service Reform Act (1978)

modernized the federal civil service by establishing the Office of Personnel Management, Merit Systems Protection Board, and Federal Labor Relations Authority to ensure merit-based hiring and employee rights.

Bureaucratic pathologies

dysfunctions and inefficiencies within bureaucratic systems, such as government agencies and organizational sources.

Bureaucratic pathologies examples

red tape: excessive rules and regulations

duplication of effort: multiple agencies perform the same task efficiently

imperialism: agencies expand beyond

conflict: disputes cause gridlock

waste: misuse of resources

lack of accountability: no consequences for inefficiency or abuse

patronage: hiring based on political ties instead of Merrit

how bureaucracies (and bureaucrats) work

authorize legislation and administrative rulemaking according to the Administrative Procedures Act (1946), policy implementation, shadow bureaucrats, state and local bureaucracies, contracted organizations

Administrative Procedures Act (1946)

ensures federal agency rulemaking is transparent, fair, and open to public input

Chevron doctrine

ended the practice of deferring to the federal agencies to ambiguous statutes

Major questions doctrine

courts shouldn’t let agencies decide big issues without clear permission from Congress

How can a government of 2.6 million unelected civilian employees function democratically?

• Universalistic Politics: Serve the public good, ensure fairness and accountability.

• Politics-Administration Dichotomy: Separate politics (policy) from administration (implementation), though not always perfect.

• Presidential Controls: President appoints key officials, oversees policy direction.

• Congressional Controls: Legislation, budget, hearings, and confirmations ensure accountability.

• Court Controls: Judicial review checks legality of government actions.

• Popular Controls: Public engagement through elections, opinion, protests.

• Internal Controls: Ethics, audits, merit-based hiring, and self-regulation ensure integrity.

Organization of the national bureaucracy

cabinet departments, independent administrative agencies, independent regulatory commissions, government corporations

Article III of the Constitution

established US Supreme Court, left it to Congress to establish other “inferior” courts “serve during good behavior,” the jurisdiction of national courts

primary function of the judicial branch

is to resolve legal conflicts

5 Categories of Law

Constitutional law,  Statutory law (legislative), Executive orders, Administrative law, Common law

Is the judicial branch the least dangerous and weakest branch of national government?

because they can’t enforce the law, they can be reactive; they have to wait for a court case to come to them, no authority in the budgeting process

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

The court gave itself power and leverage by the way they made the decision, in this case, the power of judicial review (common law doctrine), giving courts the power to declare laws unconstitutional

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954;1955)

made it legal or illegal to segregate public education separate schools for black and white children, ruling that it was legal that that separation was not legal. Separate but equal was unconstitutional

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

The Supreme Court asked to interpret if it was a violation of the 14^th Amendment to separate black passengers from white passengers; it was ok to separate based on race; the ruling ruled that it was legal as long as the services provided were the same, separate but equal.

Original jurisdiction

is the court that hears a case for the first time, listen to the facts, decision will be made on guilt or not guilty, trail court

Appellate jurisdiction

that case has already been heard, a decision has been made, and one side of the party claims that there was an error in the first hearing of the case something was wrong, appealing to a higher court, the error is usually the judge who presided over the trial, there has to be an error made in the prosecution to appeal

Discretionary jurisdiction

the power of a court, especially the U.S. Supreme Court, to choose which cases it will hear. Most cases are appealed, but the Court selects only a few through a writ of certiorari.

judicial independence

the concept that judges must be free from outside pressures especially political influence, so they can make decisions based on the law

judicial accountability

the principle that judges should be held responsible for their decisions and behavior.

dual court system of the United States

A system with separate federal and state courts, each with its own jurisdiction. Federal courts handle national issues; state courts handle state laws.

Article I Courts

Courts created by Congress under Article I of the Constitution. Judges have fixed terms, not lifetime appointments.