Comprehensive Study Guide on the United States Congress and the Executive Branch

Vocabulary flashcards covering foundational concepts of American Government, including congressional powers, representation models, legislative processes, committees, and presidential authority.

Expressed Powers of Congress

The seven powers directly granted to Congress in the Constitution: lay and collect taxes, raise and support an army, regulate interstate and foreign commerce, create lower federal courts, spend and borrow money, declare war, and coin money.

Virginia Plan

A constitutional proposal that allocated legislative representation based on population.

New Jersey Plan

A constitutional proposal that called for equal legislative representation among states.

Connecticut Compromise

An agreement that established a bicameral legislature consisting of a House (represented by population) and a Senate (equal representation).

Constituency

The people living in the district or state that an elected official represents.

Geographical Constituency

The broadest circle of representation, consisting of everyone living within a member's district or state.

Reelection Constituency

The circle of constituency composed specifically of the people who vote for the member.

Primary Constituency

The circle of constituency made up of a member's strongest and most loyal supporters.

Personal Constituency

The intimate circle of constituency consisting of a small group of advisers and confidants.

Delegate Model

A representation style where the representative votes strictly according to constituent preferences, even when it conflicts with personal judgment.

Trustee Model

A representation style where the representative relies on personal judgment to decide what is best for constituents.

Politico Model

A representation style adopted by most members of Congress, functioning as a delegate on issues closely monitored by voters and as a trustee on other issues.

Descriptive Representation

A form of representation where elected officials share personal characteristics—such as race, religion, or gender—with their constituents (whether Congress looks like the country).

Substantive Representation

A form of representation where officials advance the interests and policy preferences of the people they represent, regardless of the representative's personal background (whether Congress acts like the country).

Agency Problem (Representation)

The conflict occurring when an agent (member of Congress) may not act in the interest of the principal (voters), who cannot observe everything the agent does; elections serve as the primary accountability mechanism.

Advertising (Congressional)

The practice of building a favorable name and image through newsletters, town halls, and social media to assist in reelection.

Credit Claiming

The practice where members of Congress highlight government benefits they helped secure, such as a new highway or grant, to gain favor with voters.

Position Taking

Publicly declaring a stance on issues through floor speeches, votes, television appearances, or posts.

Incumbency Advantage

The structural and electoral advantages that help currently elected officials stay elected, including high name recognition, constituent casework, fundraising superiority, and protective district lines.

Apportionment

The reallocation of the $435$ House of Representatives seats among the states based on population changes recorded by the census every $10$ years.

Redistricting

The process by which each state redraws its congressional district boundaries, typically performed by the state legislature, a commission, or a court.

Gerrymandering

The intentional redrawing of legislative district boundaries to favor a specific political party or demographic group through strategies like packing and cracking.

Packing and Cracking

Gerrymandering tactics where opponents are either concentrated into a small number of districts (packing) or divided across multiple districts to dilute their voting strength (cracking).

Speaker of the House

The presiding officer of the House of Representatives, elected by the entire House membership.

Senate Majority Leader

The chief legislative strategist in the Senate who holds the real power by scheduling floor action and setting the legislative calendar.

President Pro Tempore

A ceremonial position in the Senate traditionally filled by the most senior member of the majority party.

Whip

A party leadership position responsible for counting party votes and pressuring undecided members to align with party leadership.

Standing Committee

A permanent legislative panel established with a fixed jurisdiction over a specific policy area.

Select Committee

A congressional committee established temporarily for a specific purpose or investigation.

Joint Committee

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

Conference Committee

A temporary joint committee created to reconcile differences when the House and Senate pass conflicting versions of the same bill.

Gatekeeping

The committee power to determine whether a proposed bill is allowed to advance to the floor or be killed entirely.

Proposal Power

The committee authority to hold hearings and conduct markup, rewriting a bill line by line.

Congressional Staff

Employees who handle constituent casework, draft legislation, monitor federal agencies, prepare hearings, and manage offices in Washington and home districts.

Caucuses

Groups of congressional members organized around ideological factions, shared regional identities, or special interests (e.g., Freedom Caucus, Black Caucus, Baking Caucus).

Closed Rule

A procedural rule issued by the House Rules Committee that bans all floor amendments during debate on a bill.

Open Rule

A procedural rule issued by the House Rules Committee that allows floor amendments to be offered, which can potentially be used to defeat a bill.

Filibuster

A Senate procedure relying on unlimited floor debate that allows an individual senator to delay or prevent a vote on legislation.

Cloture

A Senate mechanism used to end debate and stop a filibuster, requiring a supermajority of $60$ votes.

Pocket Veto

The indirect veto of a bill when the president takes no action within $10$ days while Congress is adjourned.

Veto Override

The process by which Congress enacts a law despite a presidential veto, requiring a $\frac{2}{3}$ supermajority vote in both chambers.

Power of the Purse

Congress's exclusive constitutional authority to pass spending legislation to fund the operations of the federal government.

Advice and Consent

The Senate's constitutional authority to confirm presidential appointments, including judges, and to ratify treaties by a $\frac{2}{3}$ vote.

Impeachment Process

The constitutional procedure where the House impeaches an official and the Senate conducts the trial, requiring a $\frac{2}{3}$ vote for removal under grounds of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

Unitary Decision Making

The institutional characteristic of the presidency where a single individual decides alone, allowing for quicker action in crises at the expense of higher risk compared to collective congressional deliberation.

Article II Presidential Qualifications

The constitutional requirements stating that the president must be at least $35$ years of age, a resident within the United States for $14$ years, and limited to at most $2$ terms.

Expressed Powers (Presidency)

Presidential powers explicitly written into the Constitution that Congress cannot legally revoke.

Delegated Powers (Presidency)

Powers granted to the executive branch by Congress to facilitate the execution of federal legislation.

Inherent Powers (Presidency)

Unwritten powers claimed by the president derived from the constitutional rights, duties, and obligations of the office.