Test 4

• Checks and balances: each branch of government has the power to check and limit each other to prevent one branch from becoming too powerful.

• Incumbency: A person who already held a place in the political office. Tend to have the advantage due to recognition and resources. 

• Franking privilege: the ability for members of Congress to send mail to constituents free of charge using their signature instead of a postage stamp.

• Powers of House vs. Senate: 

• The HOR: power to revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the president incase of an Electoral College tie.

• The Senate: confirms presidential appointments, ratifies treaties, holds impeachment trials.

• Pork Barrel: government spending for localized projects that benefit a legislator's district, often used to gain political support. 

• Logrolling: the practice of lawmakers exchanging favors, typically by voting for each other's proposed legislation. 

• CBO: Congressional Budget Office, not part of the bureaucracy, an office in Congress that is non-partisan, try to conduct an unbiased analysis of bills

• House Ways and Means and Rule Committees: 

• Rules committee: decides the rules for legislation; there is a closed rule which has a time limit, and open rule which has no time limit

• Leadership roles in Congress

• Speaker: the presiding officer of the HOR

  • Majority Leader: the leader of the majority party in either the House or the Senate

  • Minority Leader: the leader of the minority party in either the House or the Senate

  • President Pro Tempore: a senior member of the majority party in the Senate who presides over Senate sessions in the absence of the Vice President

  • Whips: Party officials who help coordinate votes and enforce party discipline 

  • Vice President 

  • Committee Chairs: leaders of the congressional committees who guide legislation and oversee things. 

• Filibuster: a tactic used in the Senate where a senator speaks for an extended period to delay or block a vote on a bill. 

• Motion of Cloture: a procedure used in the Senate to end a filibuster, requiring a three-fifths majority (60 votes).

• Senate Hold: a practice where a senator informs leadership that they intend to block a bill or nomination, often as a bargaining tool. 

• Senatorial Courtesy: a tradition which the Senate defers to the opinion of a senator from the president's part when considering judicial appointments in that senator's state. 

• Caucus: a meeting of members of a political party or faction to discuss strategy, select candidates, or make legislative decisions

• Types of Committees

• Standing: a permanent committee that handles specific policy areas 

  • Joint: a committee with members from both the House and Senate that addresses issues of common interests

  • Conference: a temporary committee made up of House and Senate members to reconcile differences in bills passed by both chambers.

  • Select: temporary committee created to investigate specific issues or handle particular tasks that do not fall under the jurisdiction of standing committees.

• General checks and balances: power of each branch of government to limit each others powers to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful 

• Bureaucratic Discretion/rulemaking: the ability of government agencies to make decisions and create regulations within the framework of laws passed by Congress

• Red tape: excessive bureaucracy or strict adherence to rules and regulations that often cause delays and inefficiencies in government processes. 

• Cabinet Departments from class activity: the 15 executive departments of the federal government, each led by a secretary, responsible for implementing policy in specific areas

• Roles of the President: chief executive, commander-in-chief, chief legislator

• Signing statement: a written statement issued by the President when signing a bill into law, often outlining how the administration interprets the law or noting the concerns about certain provisions 

• Pardon: the president's constitutional power to forgive a person for a federal crime, removing penalties and restoring rights. 

• Line-item veto (not a power, struck down by the courts, know what it is): the ability to veto specific parts of the bill without rejecting the entire legislation; was declared unconstitutional.

• Impoundment: when the President refuses to spend money that Congress has appropriated: ended up getting restricted.

• Executive Agreements vs. treaties: 

• Executive agreements: international agreements made by the President without Senate approval, often used for foreign policy matters 

• Treaties: formal agreements between countries that require Senate approval

• Formal vs informal powers of the President

• Formal powers: powers explicitly granted by the Constitution (commander-in-chief, policy making) 

• Informal powers: powers not explicitly stated but used to influence policy (executive orders, signing statements)

• Executive Privilege: the President's right to withhold certain communications from Congress or the courts to protect national security or confidential discussions

• Bully Pulpit: the President's ability to use public speeches and media influence to shape public opinion and push policy agendas 

• 25th Amendment order (succession order): establishes the order of presidential succession and procedures for replacing the President or Vice President in case of death, resignation, or incapacitation. The order is Vice President, Speaker of the House, Pro Tempore

• The Imperial Presidency (Presidency has gained power over time, compares to the power of a King): a term describing how the power of the presidency has expanded beyond its constitutional limits over time

• Executive orders: directives issued by the President that have the force of law without requiring congressional approval used to manage the federal government.

• Positions in the Executive Office of the Presidency (no senate approval needed)

• Press Secretary: the President's spokesperson, responsible for communicating with the media

  • Chief of Staff: the President’s top advisor and manager of the White House staff

• War Powers Act:  a law intended to limit the President’s power to deploy military forces without congressional approval.

• OMB, Economic Council, NSC:

• OMB: a federal office that helps the President prepare the annual budget and oversee government spending

  • Economic Council: a group of economists that advise the President on economic policy

  • NSC: a body that advises the President on national security and foreign policy matters

• Office of Personnel Management: the agency that oversees the federal civil service, including hiring, benefits, and personnel policies 

• Iron Triangles: how laws are implemented; interest groups can lobby Congress by giving money, super PACs, or endorsements. Interest groups can also lobby agencies, Congress can set budgets and pass laws for agencies. Agencies can make rules/favors against interest groups.

• Spoils System/Patronage: a practice where government jobs are given to political supporters as a reward for loyalty, rather than based on merit

• Congressional oversight: the power of Congress to monitor the executive branch and its agencies, ensuring they are implementing laws properly

• Hatch Act: a law that restricts federal employees from engaging in partisan political activities to maintain a nonpartisan bureaucracy.

• Pendleton Civil Service Act: a 1883 law that established the merit-based system for hiring and promoting government employees, reducing patronage. 

• Four types of bureaucratic agencies

• SEC: a federal agency that regulates the stock market and financial institutions to prevent fraud and protect investors. 

•  Federal Reserve: the central bank in the U.S. that regulates monetary policy, controls inflation, and manages interest rates. 

• Executive cabinet departments: departments that help enforce federal policies

• Judicial latin terms

• Stare Decisis: the principle that courts should follow legal precedents set by previous decisions

  • Amicus Curiae: briefs submitted by outside groups to influence court decisions 

  • Writ of certiorari, rule of 4: an order from the Supreme Court to review the lower court case; requires the “rule of four,” meaning four justices must agree to hear the case

• Judicial Restraint vs. Activism: 

• Judicial restraint: a philosophy in which judges interpret the Constitution and laws narrowly, deferring to the decisions of elected officials and avoiding overturning legislative acts unless clearly unconstitutional

• Judicial activism: a philosophy in which judges take an active role in policymaking by interpreting the Constitution broadly and striking down laws they believe violate constitutional principles 

• Judiciary Act of 1789: a federal law that established the structure of the U.S. federal court system, including the Supreme Court, circuit courts, and district courts. 

• Plaintiff, defendant: plaintiff: the person or party who brings a lawsuit against another party in a court of law   Defendant: the person or party being sued or accused in a court case

• Court Packing: a political strategy to change the composition of a court, often by increasing the number of judges to shift the ideological balance

• 3 levels of courts: 

• District courts: the lowest lever, handles trials and evidence presentation

  • Court of appeals: the middle level, reviewing lower courts decisions for errors

  • Supreme court: the highest court, makes final rulings on constitutional matters

- Know what each has for original vs. appellate jurisdiction: 

• Original jurisdiction: the authority of a court to hear a case first, before any appellate review. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in cases involving states and foreign diplomats  

Appellate jurisdiction:the authority of a court to review and revise a lower court's decision. Most Supreme Court cases come through appellate jurisdiction