Executive Branch Vocabulary List

Question 1

What is Gridlock?

Answer 1

The inability of the government to act because opposing parties control different parts of the government and cannot agree on a course of action.

Question 2

What is Formal Power?

Answer 2

Authority given to the president that is specifically mentioned in the Constitution.

Question 3

What is Informal Power?

Answer 3

Authority given to the president that is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution.

Question 4

What is an Executive Order?

Answer 4

A directive that carries the weight of law that is given by the president without the consent of Congress.

Question 5

What is an Executive Agreement?

Answer 5

A pact between the president and the head of a foreign nation. Unlike treaties, they do not require Senate consent and may only last for the duration of a president’s term.

Question 6

What is a Treaty?

Answer 6

A formal, public agreement between the United States and one or more nations that must be approved by two-thirds of the Senate.

Question 7

What is a Cabinet?

Answer 7

The heads of the fifteen executive branch departments that also serve as advisors to the president.

Question 8

What is a Bully Pulpit?

Answer 8

The president’s use of his position and visibility to guide or influence the American public.

Question 9

What is the State of the Union?

Answer 9

An annual address given by the president to Congress in which the president outlines his legislative agenda.

Question 10

What is Executive Privilege?

Answer 10

The president’s ability to keep certain communications private. United States v. Nixon clarified its limitations.

Question 11

What is the 22nd Amendment?

Answer 11

This provision of the Constitution limits presidential terms to two, not to exceed 10 years.

Question 12

What is the 25th Amendment?

Answer 12

This provision of the Constitution states the process for presidential succession and disability.

Question 13

What is a Veto?

Answer 13

The presidential power to deny a bill passed by Congress.

Question 14

What is a Pocket Veto?

Answer 14

When a bill fails to become law, because the president did not sign it within 10 days before Congress adjourned.

Question 15

What is a Line-Item Veto?

Answer 15

The power to cancel specific dollar amounts within a bill. While the Supreme Court has ruled presidents may not use these, state governors still can.

Question 16

What is a Signing Statement?

Answer 16

Issued by the president after passing a bill into law; reveals what the president thinks of a new law and how it ought to be enforced.

Question 17

What is Impeachment?

Answer 17

The constitutional process of bringing charges against a government official.

Question 18

What is a Pardon?

Answer 18

Official forgiveness of a crime.

Question 19

What is a Lame Duck?

Answer 19

An official still in office after he or she has lost a bid for re-election or has reached his/her term limit.

Question 20

What is Congressional Oversight?

Answer 20

The authority of Congress to conduct hearings, investigations, and budget reviews regarding the actions of the executive branch.

Question 21

What is Bureaucracy?

Answer 21

A large, complex organization composed of appointed officials.

Question 22

What is the Executive Office of the President?

Answer 22

The part of the executive branch that supports the president in his responsibilities, from security to trade.

Question 23

What is the White House Staff?

Answer 23

Personnel who run day-to-day operations in the White House and advise the president.

Question 24

What are Executive Departments?

Answer 24

15 large agencies of the federal government that carry out laws and regulate within their respective areas. Each is headed by a secretary.

Question 25

What are Independent Regulatory Commissions?

Answer 25

Agencies that are responsible for monitoring large government sectors, such as the Federal Reserve, and are not subject to control by either Congress or the President.

Question 26

What are Government Corporations?

Answer 26

A government agency that carries out business-like functions, such as the US Postal Service.

Question 27

What is the Office of Management and Budget?

Answer 27

This part of the bureaucracy helps the president prepare the budget for the fiscal year.

Question 28

What is Discretionary Authority/Bureaucratic Discretion?

Answer 28

The extent to which appointed bureaucrats can choose courses of action and make policies that are not spelled out in advance by the laws of Congress.

Question 29

What is Civil Service?

Answer 29

The part of the government that fulfills the daily functions of the bureaucracy. These government workers are hired on the basis of merit.

Question 30

What is the Merit System?

Answer 30

Procedure of hiring and promoting government employees on the basis of their abilities and competence rather than political favors.

Question 31

What is the Pendleton Act?

Answer 31

The law that created a merit-based system for the hiring of members of the civil service.

Question 32

What is an Iron Triangle?

Answer 32

A mutually beneficial relationship between an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group.

Question 33

What is an Issue Network?

Answer 33

A link of policy experts, interest groups, think tanks, congressional staff members, media pundits, etc. who regularly debate an issue.

Question 34

What is an Appropriation?

Answer 34

A legislative grant of money to finance a government program or agency.

Question 35

What is Regulation?

Answer 35

The use of government authority to control or change business practices in the private sector.