American Government: Stories of a Nation (Presidential Election Update) - Chapter 4

Terms:

• Article I

  • Establishes Congress and its powers in the Constitution

• pork barrel spending

  • legislation that directs specific funds to projects within districts or states

• logrolling

  • trading of votes on legislation by members of Congress to get their earmarks passed into legislation

• earmarks

  • the allocation of money to specific projects in states or congressional districts

• oversight (e)

  • efforts by Congress to ensure that executive branch agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments, as well as their officials, are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goals

  • example: watergate

• apportionment

  • the process of determining the number of representatives for each state using census data

• redistricting

  • states’ redrawing of boundaries of electoral districts following each census

• gerrymandering

  • the intentional use of redistricting to benefit a specific interest or group of voters

• majority-minority district

  • a district in which voters of a minority ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district

• Baker v Carr (s)

  • redistricting case which involved some Tennessee districts which had not been redrawn for 50 years

  • holding: malapportionment is unconstitutional by 14th Amendment

  • significance: “one person one vote”

• malapportionment

  • the uneven distribution of the population among legislative districts

• Shaw v Reno

  • Rejected US attorney general mandate for North Carolina to draw a very oddly-shaped second majority-minority district

• incumbent

  • being already in office as opposed to running for the first time

• incumbency advantages (s)

  • institutional advantages held by those already in office who are trying to fend off challengers in an election

  • significance: House members running every two years - name becomes familiar, rising ranks in Congress to become powerful member

• franking privilege

  • free use of mail for communication with constituents

• Speaker of the House

  • the leader of the House of Representatives, chosen by an election of its members

• Whip

  • a member of Congress, chosen by his or her party members, whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline

• Minority leader

  • the head of the party with the second-highest number of seats in Congress, chosen by the party’s members

• Senate majority leader

  • the person who has the most power in the Senate and is the head of the party with the most seats

• committee chair

  • leader of a congressional committee who has authority over the committee’s agenda

• standing committees

  • permanent committees divided by subject area

  • consider legislation and exercise oversight of bureaucratic agencies

  • divided into subcommittees

• conference committees

  • temporary joint committee that resolves differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill

  • membership determined by party leaders

• select committees

  • temporary committees called upon to investigate an issue, sometimes in response to a crisis or a scandal

  • ex. United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol

• discharge petition

  • a motion filed by a member of Congress to move a bill out of committee and onto the floor of the House of Representatives

• House Rules Committee

  • a powerful committee that determines when a bill will be subject to debate and vote on the House floor, how long the debate will last, and whether amendments will be allowed on the floor

• Committee of the Whole

  • consists of all members of the House and meets in the House chamber but is governed by different rules, making it easier to consider complex and controversial legislation

• hold

  • a delay placed on legislation by a senator who objects to a bill

• unanimous consent agreement

  • an agreement in the Senate that sets the terms for consideration of a bill

• filibuster (e)

  • a tactic through which an individual senator may use the right of unlimited debate to delay a motion or postpone action on a piece of legislation

  • ex. Strom Thurmond filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964

• cloture

  • a procedure through which senators can end a filibuster and proceed to action, provided 60 senators agree to it

• Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

  • the executive branch office that assists the president in setting national spending priorities

• entitlement program (e)

  • a program that provides benefits to those who qualify under the law, regardless of income

  • examples: Social Security and medicare

• mandatory spending (e)

  • spending required by existing laws that is “locked in” the budget

  • ex. entitlement programs

• discretionary spending (e)

  • spending for programs and policies at the discretion of Congress and the president

  • ex. defense spending

• budget surplus

  • the amount of money remaining when the government takes in more than it spends

• budget deficit

  • the annual shortfall when a government takes in less money than it spends

• national debt

  • the total amount of money owed by the federal government

• delegate role

  • the idea that the main duty of a member of Congress is to carry out constituents’ wishes

• trustee role

  • the idea that members of Congress should act as trustees, making decisions based on their knowledge and judgment

• politico role

  • representation where members of Congress balance their choices with the interests of their constituents and parties in making decisions

• bipartisanship

  • agreement between the parties to work together in Congress to pass legislation

• gridlock

  • a slowdown or halt in Congress’s ability to legislate and overcome divisions, especially those based on partisanship

• divided government

  • control of the presidency and one or both chambers of Congress split between the two major parties

• lame duck period

  • period at the end of a presidential term when Congress may block presidential initiatives and nominees

Concepts:

• Key differences between the House and Senate (multiple quiz questions on this).

  • House: >=25yrs old, seven yrs citizenship, 2 year terms, district, more governed by rules, closer to voters, 435 members

  • Senate: >=30yrs old, nine yrs citizenship, 6 year terms, state, less governed by rules, further from voters, 100 members

• How the impeachment process works and what constitutes an impeachable offense.

  • Impeachable: treason, bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors

  • Starts with an Impeachment Resolution in the House

  • House Jud. Committee votes (simple maj)

  • Entire House votes (simple maj)

  • Senate writes bill of indictment and notifies president

  • Senate trial run by Chief Justice

  • Senate jury composed of senators deliberates and votes

  • two-thirds majority - person is removed

• Advantages of incumbents in congressional elections.

  • name recognizability, specialization/skills gained while in Congress

• The financing of the Social Security program and causes of long-term problems it faces.

  • More people are getting older than the amount of people entering the workforce

  • Longer lives and fewer children creates a problem for Social Security’s future

  • Financing: employees and employers pay a certain amount into the Social Security Trust Fund