AP GOV isn't real communism is

Bicameralism 

System of having 2 chambers within one legislative body

(house + senate in congress)

Pork Barrel 

Legislative appropriations that benefit specific constituents, created with the aim of helping local representatives win re-election

Trustee

Member of congress who represents constituents while also taking into account national, collective, and moral concerns that sometimes cause the member to vote against the preference of a majority of constituents

• Votes independently

Delegate

A member of Congress who loyally represents constituents direct interests

• Votes as the ppl, even when it conflicts with personal values

Politico 

A member of congress who acts as a delegate on issues that constituents care about and as a trustee on more complex/less salient issues 

• An official who attempts to balance the basic elements of the trustee, delegate, and partisan roles

Redistricting

Redrawing the geographic boundaries of legislative districts. Happens every ten years to ensure that districts remain roughly equal in population

Apportionment

Process of assigning the 435 seats in the House to the states based on increases/decreases in state population

Gerrymandering

Attempting to use the process of redrawing district boundaries to benefit a political party, protect incumbents (ppl holding office), or change the proportion of minority voters in a district

Gridlock 

An inability to enact legislation because of partisan conflict within Congress or between Congress and the president

Incumbency Advantage

The relative infrequency with which members of Congress are defeated in their attempts at re-election

Logrolling 

Trading votes among politicians (you support my policy and I’ll support yours on a dif subject area)

Earmarks 

Federally funded local projects attached to bills passed through Congress

Speaker of the House

Elected leader of the House

Majority Leader

Elected head of the party holding the majority of seats in the House or Senate

Minority Leader

Elected head of the party holding the minority of seats in the House or Senate

Whip System

Organization of House leaders who work to disseminate (spread) info and promote party unity in voting on legislation 

President Pro Tempore

Largely symbolic position usually held by the most senior member of the majority party in the Senate

Standing Committee

Committees that are a permanent part of the 

House or Senate structure, holding more importance and authority than other committees

Joint Committee

Committees that contain members of both the House and Senate but have limited authority

Conference Committee

Temporary committees created to negotiate differences between the House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation that has passed through both chambers

Markup

One of the steps through which a bill becomes a law, in which the final wording of the bill is determined

Veto

President’s rejection of a bill that has been passed by Congress.

Can be overridden by 2/3s vote in both the House and Senate

Pocket Veto

Automatic death of a bill passed by the House and Senate when the president fails to sign the bill in the last ten days of a legislative branch

Omnibus Legislation 

Large bills that often cover several topics and may contain extraneous, or pork-barrel, projects

Cloture

Procedure through which the Senate can limit the amount of time spent debating a bill (cutting off a filibuster), 

If a supermajority of 60 senators agree

• Close the debate

Filibuster 

Tactic used by senators to block a bill by continuing to hold the floor and speak - under the Senate rule of unlimited debate - until the bill’s supports back down

• Yapping until they get tired and back down

Hold

Objection to considering a measure on the Senate floor

Discharge Petition

A way by which a member of the House - after a committee has had a bill for 30 days - can ask to have it brought to the floor

If majority members agree, the bill will leave the committee.

• Designed to prevent a committee from killing a bill by holding it for too long

Rules Committee

Committee in the House that establishes rules for debate/revision on bills

Executive Office of the President (EOP)

The group of policy-related offices that serves as support staff to the president

Cabinet

The group of 15 executive department heads who implement the president’s agenda in their respective positions

Unilateral Action

Presidential

Any policy decision made + acted upon by the president and his staff without the explicit approval or consent of Congress

Signing Statement

Document issued by the pres when signing a bill into law explaining his interpretation of the law, which often differs from the interpretation of Congress, in an attempt to influence how the law will be implemented

Constitutional Authority

Powers derived from the provisions of the Constitution that outline the president’s role in the gov

Statutory Authority

Powers derived from laws enacted by Congress that add to the powers given to the president in the constitution

• Additional congressional given presidential power

Vesting Clause

Article II, Section I

• States “executive power shall be vested in a President of the USofA” - making the president head of gov and head of state

Executive Orders

Proclamations made by the president that change government policy without congressional approval

Executive Agreement

Agreement between executive branch and a foreign government, which acts as a treaty but doesn’t require senate approval

State of the Union 

Annual speech in which the president addresses Congress to report on the condition of the country and recommend policies

Executive Privilege 

Right of the president to keep executive branch conversations and correspondence confidential from the legislative + judicial branches

Civil Servants

Employees of bureaucratic agencies within the gov

Political Appointees

People selected by an elected leader - like president - to hold government position

Regulation

A rule that allows the gov to exercise control over individuals and corporations by restricting certain behaviors

Notice-and-comment procedure

A step in the rule-making process in which proposed rules are published in the Fed Register and made available for debate by the general public

Red Tape

Excessive or Unnecessarily complex regulations imposed by the bureaucracy

Standard Operating Procedure

Rules that lower-level bureaucrats must follow when implementing policies

Independent Agencies

Government offices/orgs that provide gov services and aren’t part of an executive department

Bureaucratic Drift

Bureaucrats’ tendency to implement policies in a way that favors their own political objectives rather than following the original intentions of the legislation

Oversight

Congressional efforts to make sure laws are implemented correctly by the bureaucracy after they’ve been passed

Police Patrol Oversight

A method of oversight in which members of Congress constantly monitor the bureaucracy to make sure the laws are implemented correctly

Fire Alarm Oversight

A method of oversight in which members of Congress respond to complaints about the bureaucracy/problems of implementation only as they arise 

(rather than exercising constant vigilance)

Judiciary Act of 1789

Law that Congress laid out the organization of the federal judiciary.

It refined/clarified fed court jurisdiction and set the original number of justices at six. It also created the Office of the Attorney General and established lower fed courts

Appellate Jurisdiction

Authority of a court to hear appeals from lower courts and change or uphold the decision

Judicial Review

Supreme Court’s power to strike down a law/executive branch action that it finds unconstitutional

Original Jurisdiction

Authority of a court to handle a case first, as in the Supreme Court’s authority to initially hear disputes between 2 states.

However, original jurisdiction for the Supreme Court is not exclusive; it may assign such a case to a lower court

Plaintiff & Defendant

person/party bringing case to court

person/party against whom a case is brought

Plea Bargaining

Agreement between plaintiff and defendant to settle a case before it goes to trial/the verdict is decided.

• In a civil case, this usually involves admission of guilt and agreement on monetary damages

• In criminal case, it often involves admission of guilt in return for a reduced charge/sentence

Class-Action Lawsuit

Case brought by a group of individuals on behalf of themselves and others in the general public who are in similar circumstances

Common Law

Law based on precedent of previous court rulings rather than on legislation

• Used in all fed courts and 49/50 state courts

Precedent (stare decisis)

Legal norm established in court cases that is then applied to future cases dealing with the same legal questions

Jurisdiction

The sphere of a court’s legal authority to hear and decide cases

Senatorial Courtesy 

A norm in the nomination of district court judges in which the president from the relevant state in choosing the nominee

Amicus Curiae

“Friend of the court” (latin)

• Referring to an interested group/person who shares relevant info about a case to help a Court reach decision

Oral Arguments

Spoken presentations made in person by the lawyers of each party to a judge or appellate court outlining the legal reasons their side should prevail

Strict Construction

Interpreting Constitution based on its language alone

Original Intent

The theory that justices should surmise the intentions of the Founders when the language of the Constitution is unclear

Living Constitution

Interpreting Constitution that takes into account evolving national attitudes + circumstances

Judicial Restraint

Idea that the Supreme Court should defer to the democratically elected executive and legislative branches of government rather than contradicting existing laws

Judicial Activism 

Idea that the Supreme Court should assert its interpretation of the law even if it overrules the elected executive and legislative branches of gov