AP Gov Unit 2 Notes

Cabinet

Role of Cabinet

• advisory group for the president

• cabinet secretaries head the 15 executive departments

• help president execute laws and assist in decision-making

  • goes with advising and enforcing the law

Important Facts

• cabinet secretaries advice president

• cabinet not specifically included in Constitution

• only congress can create executive departments (office)

• secretaries appointed by president and confirmed by senate

• cabinet based upon tradition and secretaries serve at pleasure of president

  • can be fired/hired whenever president pleases

• 15 cabinet apartments

President Nominations Steps

1. Appoints a nominee

   • White House staff vets potential cabinet nominees

   • nominee fill out financial disclosure forms

   • FBI has background checks on nominees

   • interest groups weigh in on cabinet secretaries

2. Senate confirmation hearings

   • Senate committee members grill nominees on subjects ranging from policy to personal background to taxes

   • senate standing committee votes up or down on a nominee and passes recommendation on to the full Sensate

   • some nominees may run into problems and some must even withdrawal from process

3. Full Senate Votes

4. Once Confirmed, Cabinet nominee is sworn in

US Congressional Demographics

Demographics: quantifiable statistic of a given population

• used:

  • to identify subjects within given population which characterize that population

  • to see patterns used by government, business and social groups

• demography is used widely in public opinion and marketing

  • commonly examined demographics include gender, age, ethnicity, etc

Requirements for Senator

• 30+ years old

• live in state representing

• citizen for 9+ years

• 6 year term

Requirements for Representatives

• 25+ years old

• resident of state representing

• citizen for 7+ years

• 2 year term

Formal v Informal Powers of President

Veto: The presidential ability to overturn a law proposed to him, even if it was approved by Congress

• formal power

Pocket Veto: If the president does not address a bill for a certain amount of time, the bill dies and is vetoed automatically.

• formal power

Executive Orders: When the president creates a policy, essentially a law, but does not create a bill for it to skip the process

• informal power

Treaties: An agreement with foreign countries

• formal power

Commander-in-Chief: The president is also head of the military

• formal power

Executive Agreements: An undocumented agreement with foreign countries

• informal power

Bargaining and Persuasion: Persuading others and bargaining is gaining support from others for a belief one has

• informal power

Signing Statements: Agreeing to allow a bill to pass

• formal power

Roles of the President

Chief of State

• entertains foreign leaders with formal dinners

• promotes worthy causes

• recognizes citizens who have made outstanding contribution to community or nation

• president is a symbolic leader of our country

  • performs many ceremonial duties

Chief Executive

• president actually owns own government

• makes sure law are enforced appointments

• grants reprieves and pardons

Legislative Leader / Chief Legislature

• recommends laws while guiding congress in lawmaking

• each year in January, president gives his state of the union speech

• bill does not become a law until signed by president

Chief Diplomat

• leader and guide of our foreign nation makes decisions affecting foreign affairs

• negotiates treaties or agreements with other countries

Commander-in-Chief

• head of all military forces

• raising, training, supervising and delaying defense forces

• reviews troops and awards services

Chief of Party / Party Leader

• leader of their own party

• endorses other candidates of their party

Economic Planer / Chief Administrator

• coordinates the efforts of over 150 departments and agencies

• spending and taxation

How Does a Bill Become a Law?

I - Idea

Can’t - Committee

Find - Floor of the House (435)

Red - Repeat in Senate

Colored - Conference committee (if two versions of same bill pass)

Pencils - President (veto/approve/sign/pocket veto)

Steps

1. Idea

2. Writing and introduction of bill

   • Senate

     • Bill formerly read aloud on floor

     • bill then given to clerk

     • referred to committee by senate leadership

   • House

     • bill dropped in hopper

     • referred to committee by the speaker

3. Committee Action

   • House and Senate committees conduct public hearings

   • experts testify

   • markup of bills

   • committee vote

4. Floor Action (House)

   • party leaders schedule bills for floor debate on the calendar

   • unlimited debate

   • filibuster: members keep talking to block debate on hill

   • closure vote by 3/5 of Senators (60) can end filibuster

   • Floor vote: roll call; standing voice

5. Floor Action (Senate)

6. Conference Committee

   • includes members of House and Senate to work out differences between similar bills

7. Both chambers vote on final bill

8. President considers bill

   • Can:

     • sign bill into law

     • veto bill

     • pocket veto

Redistricting

Census: population count taken every ten years to determine how many representatives each state has

Apportionment: distribution of representatives per state in House of Reps

Reapportionment: number of new representatives each state is entitled based on latest census

Redistricting: process by which state legislators officials draw the lines for congressional districts

Gerrymandering: political party controlling state draws the district boundaries to gain an advantage in elections

Redistricting Rules

1. District must be contiguous

2. Districts must have approximately the same amount of constituents

3. Representative must live in district they represent

Gerrymandering Notes

• democrats do it in democratic states and vice versa with republicans

• electoral college impacted

• representative per district

• districts must have similar populations—population usually not spread out

• easier to cut out minorities

• majority-minority districts

  • majority of region is minorities

• whoever coins state legislature draws line

Necessary Cases

Shaw v Reno

• 1993

• drawing of district 12 in Tennessee was racial gerrymandering

• Voting Rights Act of 1960

• 14th Amendment

• still gerrymandering if minority benefits

Baker v Carr

• 1962

• Tennessee didn’t redraw lines since 1901

• districting became federal concern

• one person one vote

  • had to draw lines in a way that did not make it impossible for minorities to have benefit

  • nearly same population in each district so none has more power than other

• 14th Amendment

Congress

Enumerated Powers: powers stated in constitution

Implied Powers: powers not directly stated in constitution

• enumerated powers in article 1, section 8

• implied powers from necessary and proper clause

• controls commerce, taxes, foreign commerce

• can create laws

• can declare war

Structure, Powers, Functions of Both Houses

House of Reps

• commerce laws

• economic related things

Senate

• draft legislation pertaining to president

Procedures, Rules and Roles Impacting Policy-making Process

House of Representatives

• Discharge Petition

  • It is the bringing out a bill to the floor for consideration without the report of the committee

• Rules Committee

  • In charge of rules of which bills will be brought to the floor.

Senate

• Filibuster

  • A Filibuster is when a congress member speaks at a debate without any limit in order to block something.

• Cloture

  • Cloture is the needing of ⅗ of members need to vote for a filibuster to end.

• Treaty Ratification

  • It is the agreement of states to be bound by a treaty

• Confirmation of Judges

  • Majority of senators need to vote and be present for a judicial nominee to be confirmed

Budget

Discretionary Spending: It is the spending of the portion of the federal budget decided by Congress

Mandatory Spending: Budget spending that is legally obligated to be for a specific thing

Pork Barrel Legislation: Allocation of money for localized projects by decision of the place given the money

Logrolling: It is exchanging favors to create mutual support for each other’s proposed bills and such

Congressional Behavior & Governing Effects

Divided Government: When one political party controls the presidency and another Congress

Partisan: Identifying with a party which likely influences beliefs

Bi-partisan: Cooperation between people of different parties

Lame-Duck President: A president completing the end of their term

Trustee: Person who gives the best advice based on what is right, not based on popularity

• prioritize personal beliefs

• focuses on more long term

• more often adopted by senate due to longer terms

Delegate: Person who gives advice based on what is popular, not what they believe to be right

• focus on more immediate and controversial issues

• less adopted by Senate

Politico: Blend of trustee and delegate

• national concerns v state concerns

Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy: Form of government where decisions are made by a group of non-elected leaders

Patronage: System where political supporters are awarded with jobs and such in exchange for loyalty

Merit: Hiring or promoting people based on their skills

Civil Service: Employees that work for the government that were not elected

Power of the Purse: The power of Congress to handle money

Compliance Monitoring: The process by which laws are enforced