ap gov unit 2 review

Unit 2 -


Congress → MAKES LAWS (NO TERM LIMITS)

  • Bicameral (house of reps & senate)

Enumerated powers → 


  • Federal budget → congress can control budget → allocation of resources → can threaten in favor of their interests by control who gets powerful (due to more money funding) or who declines

  • Coin money

  • Collect taxes

  • Declare war

  • Raise an army

  • To establish post offices


Necessary and proper clause → allows congress to pass laws that are “necessary and proper” to carry out its other powers and duties



Senate → represents state equally, 2 senators (treaties)

  • Ensured smaller states had equal representation to larger states

  • Check on the power of house of reps (which represents the population)

  • ⅓ of senate up for reelection every 2 years → continuous body

  • Don’t have to listen as much to popular will bc of longer terms

  • Less formal process bc less ppl → allows for filibuster (continuously debate to delay) → cloture (⅔ senate end filibuster) and start vote

  • Confirmation (check on presidency)

  • Advice & consent


House of Reps → represent the population of each individual state (revenue bills)


Census → apportionment → redistricting → gerrymandering


  • district/county

  • Apportionment → Representatives for each state is determined by a census (every 10 years)

  • Ensures that every voice of every citizen is heard

  • All up for reelection every 2 years

  • Listen to popular will or else won’t get reelected

  • More formal process bc more people or else nothing gets done


Gerrymandering → state legislation redrawing districts gives political party advantage in future elections, put as many people from your party into the house

  • Safe seats (90% incumbent reelected)→ political party in control of the district is highly likely to remain in control —> high incumbent election rates (more likely to support and donate to incumbent bc want to be the driving force of success)


Power of the purse → control another group by withholding spending (ways & means comm)


Subcommittees → created by congress to handle specific areas of policy


House committee → traffic cop, controls the flow of legislation and which ones are sent to floor

Standing → legit

Select → temporary, for investigations 

Joint → temporary, for investigations involves members of both the House and Senate

Conference → work out differences between the house version and the senate version of a bill that has been amended after engrossment (final ver of bill)


Majority party in congress → more control over which legislation gets voted on, more easily pass its preferred legislations 


  • Balance between representation of states and the representation of the population

  • Interests of states and people taken into account

  • Legislative structure ensures that no one branch of government becomes too powerful


Legislative process → slow design to prevent hasitness


  • Framers intended that there would be compromises to be met


Bill introduced by member of congress (sponsor) → bill is assigned to a committee for study → released by committee → pass by simple majority in house of reps and senate → conference committee (house and senate) work out differences between house and senate versions of the bill → bill returns to the house and senate for final approval → sent to president’s desk → president has 10 days to sign or veto the bill



If president vetos the bill → congress can:

  • Make suggested changes to the bill

  • Override the veto by a two thirds vote (unlikely)


Speaker of the house → majority party


  • control legislation 

  • control committees


Chairman → majority


Ranking member → minority party


President of the Senate → VP of US


Models of representation →


Trustee → trust representative to make right decision

Delegate → listen to constituents 

Politico → mix of both


Divided governments → one party presidency & different party congress majority


Partisanship → gridlock

Bipartisanship → legislation (negotiation and compromise)


Same government → president & congress majority same party


  • Lots of legislation will be passed according to party agenda

  • Party will cooperate (party discipline) or put in line


Baker v Carr → one person one vote (equal district populations) 14th amendment


Tennessee did not redistrict, supreme court steps in and says have to redistrict

Shaw v Reno → race couldn’t be factor in redistricting (voting rights act)










President → appeal to congress -> 


Lame duck → president in last year and can’t get reelected, can’t get anything done bc nobody will listen to him → no legislation is passed


Closest advisors (chief of staff) in white house office > cabinet > “agencies”/Bureaucracies 


Cabinet manages departments and agencies within the executive branch → is checked by senate 



President can nominate supreme court judges (long lasting on direction of country), important legacy



Can alter legislation by threatening to veto bill


Veto → 10 days to veto → override ⅔ majority of congress (unlikely)


Doesn’t sign within 10 days → bill will become a law


Pocket veto → President does not sign the bill in 10 days & congress session ends within 10 days → bill dies


Executive agreements (politically binding,  not approved by Senate) vs treaties (legally binding, confirmed by Senate w/ ⅔ majority)




Chief legislator

Chief executive → 


Commander in chief → military

Chief diplomat → 

  • appoint ambassadors (w/ senate confirmation)

  • Receive ambassadors

  • Recognize nations (president is head of nation, visit to improve foreign relations)


Fed 70 → A single executive is necessary for efficient functioning of government


  • Efficiency

  • Accountable

  • No conflict

  • Congress already slow, doesn’t make sense for executive branch to be slow too, need to be fast for functioning of the government


22 amendment → 2 terms (passed in response to FDR 4 terms in office)


President has more power through foreign than domestic, domestic has to go through congress


Expansion of presidential power →


Civil war → lincoln suspended habeas corpus

New deal → FDR changed american economy and added welfare programs

State of union address (1941) → It positioned the president as a global leader advocating for universal human rights, more presidential influence


Communication →


Social media → direct access 


Presidential approval ratings → impact congress


Bully pulpit → agenda setting (directly talk to people)


State of the union address → 




Formal powers →

  • Execute the laws

  • Make treaties with the approval of the senate

  • Nominate supreme court judges, appoint ambassadors

  • Grant federal pardons

  • veto/pocket veto



Informal


  • Executive orders → force of law, allows president to manage federal operations and policies without needing congressional approval (people can sue and supreme court can rule that it is constitutional)

  • Executive privilege → withhold (not a guarantee) US v Nixon (the power of the President and other executive branch officials to withhold certain confidential communications from Congress and the courts)

  • Impoundment → withholding funds from congress approved spending

  • Sending troops into situations without a formal declaration of war (congress needs to appropriate funding) 

  • Signing statements interpretation (explain their interpretation of the law which may be different for which congress intended it to be)


Caucus → meetings of members of a political party or faction to discuss and decide on policies, strategies, and candidate selections


Pork barrel →wasteful spending, benefit your district so you get elected

Log rolling → you scratch my back, i scratch your back (you support my legislation i support yours)


Imperial presidency → president acting like king (FDR)


President defence → i have to get something done, i was elected by the people to get something done (uses executive orders)


Bully pulpit → informal power, talk to audience, speak out on any issue


War powers act → limit the president's authority to send US troops to war without authorization from Congress


President can plan budget, house has power of the purse, they can argue back and forth → politics


Speaker of the house votes only if they choose to (usually on important issues)

  • Leads the house

  • Presides over house debates

  • Assigns bills to committees

  • Influences legislative agenda (control)

  • Appoints members to committees

  • Presidential succession 3rd in line

President of the senate (vice president) votes only to break a tie

  • Presides over senate sessions (rarely)

  • No real legislative power

  • May influence the senate through party leadership but has limited control


In summary speaker of the house > president of the senate


House majority leader → second in command after speaker

  • Helps set party’s agenda

Senate majority leader → most powerful person in the senate

  • Influences committee assignments

  • Controls legislative schedule


Bills containing spending/revenue/type stuff → begins in house of representatives



12th amendment → requires to vote for president and vice president separately

22 amendment → after FDR (bro had 4 terms and leveraged power within foreign relationships bc us became world superpower he became powerful too), created to limit power of president (prevent imperial presidency)


17th amendment → direct election of us senators


Chief of staff duties

  • Manages the white house 

  • Ensures president agenda carried out

  • Coordinates communication with lawmakers

  • Gatekeepers access to president

  • Helps manage crises


Tie in electoral college →


  • House of representatives chooses president

  • Senate chooses the vice president



earmark refers to a provision that directs federal funds to a specific recipient (usually a project, program or organization) without going through the normal competitive allocation process. 


Nominations in supreme court approved by simple majoirty


Simple majority →

  • Passing legislation (house and senate)

  • Confirming supreme court nominations, presidential (cabinet members, ambassadors) appointments (senate)

  • Impeach (house simple majority)


2/3rd →

  • Overriding presidential veto (congress)

  • Ratifying international treaties (senate) 

  • Impeach (senate 2/3rds majority)


House of rules committees → decides which legislation passed to floor of house to vote, decides the rules of debate


enumerated powers → listed in constitution

Xpress powers → constitution literally expresses what branches of government can do


Executive bureaucracy/agencies/departments → responsible for turning policy into action (they are part of executive branch so they execute the law) 


Caucasus → members of congress who come together informally to form a group to protect mutual interests


State legislature redraws congressional district lines


Chief of state → foreign policy spokesperson

  • Serves as ceremonial head of natoin


Line item veto (unconstitutional) → gave too much legislative power to president (can just cross out things from a bill that he doesn’t like)


Secretary of state → foreign policy


President plans federal budget


House of rules committee generally most powerful


House deals with money, power of purse


Senate deals with foreign policy and treaties and presidential appointment confirmations


Bully pulpit → using people to achieve agenda (president is head of nation so people will tune in and listen, have audience automatically)


Article 1 → congress

Article 2 → president


Whips


Majority vs minority party leaders in congress


President pro tempore

Majority leader has power over when bills are debated and how members are assigned to committees


Earmarks → congresspeople accomplishments to point to when they run for reeelectoin (tell constituents that they brought home the bacon)


Executive agreements (without senate) politccally binding → treaties (with senate ⅔ majority approval) legally binding


Bully pulpit → agenda setting


White house staff closer to president


Supreme court

Fed 78 → 

  • Judges should serve for life (with good behavior)

  • Judicial review → can declare laws unconstitutional (marbury v madison)

  • Judges guided by stare decrisis (precident) rely on old court decisions to make new decisions

  • Judicial restraint →strict interpretation

  • Judicial activism → protecting rights of people even if not specifically mentioned in constitution


Bureaucracy →


  • Pendelton act (resulting from spoils system andrew jackson) hired on merit

  • Cannot be fired by president without cause or else get sued

  • Cabinet 

  • Iron triangle