Terms

Question 1

Leader of a congressional committee who has authority over the committee’s agenda.

Answer 1

committee chair

Question 2

the head of the party with the second highest number of seats in Congress, chosen by the party’s members.

Answer 2

minority leader

Question 3

a member of Congress, chosen by his or her party members, whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline.

Answer 3

whip

Question 4

efforts by Congress to ensure that executive branch agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments, as well as their officials, are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goals.

Answer 4

oversight

Question 5

Trading of votes on legislation by members of Congress to get their earmarks passed into legislation

Answer 5

logrolling

Question 6

the person who has the most power in the Senate and is the head of the party with the most seats.

Answer 6

senate majority leader

Question 7

the person who is the second in command of the House of Representatives.

Answer 7

house majority leader

Question 8

the leader of the House of Representatives, chosen by an election of its members.

Answer 8

speaker of the house

Question 9

Legislation that directs specific funds to projects within districts or states

Answer 9

Pork Barrel Spending

Question 10

the intentional use of redistricting to benefit a specific interest or group of voters.

Answer 10

Gerrymandering

Question 11

states’ redrawing of boundaries of electoral districts following each census.

Answer 11

redistricting

Question 12

drawing district boundaries into strange shapes to benefit a political party.

Answer 12

Partisan gerrymandering

Question 13

a district in which voters of a minority ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district.

Answer 13

majority-minority district

Question 14

the uneven distribution of the population between legislative districts.

Answer 14

malapportionment

Question 15

a political official who is currently in office.

Answer 15

incumbent

Question 16

a body of voters in a given area who elect a representative or senator.

Answer 16

constituency

Question 17

the process of determining the number of representatives for each state using census data

Answer 17

apportionment

Question 18

institutional advantages held by those already in office who are trying to fend off challengers in an election.

Answer 18

incumbent advantage

Question 19

an organization that raises money for candidates and campaigns.

Answer 19

political action committee (PAC)

Question 20

a motion filed by a member of Congress to move a bill out of committee and onto the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote.

Answer 20

discharge petition

Question 21

a powerful committee that determines when a bill will be subject to debate and vote on the House floor, how long the debate will last, and whether amendments will be allowed on the floor.

Answer 21

House Rules Committee

Question 22

consists of all members of the House and meets in the House chamber but is governed by different rules, making it easier to consider complex and controversial legislation.

Answer 22

Committee of the Whole

Question 23

a delay placed on legislation by a senator who objects to a bill

Answer 23

hold

Question 24

an agreement in the Senate that sets the terms for consideration of a bill.

Answer 24

unanimous consent agreement

Question 25

a tactic through which an individual senator may use the right of unlimited debate to delay a motion or postpone action on a piece of legislation.

Answer 25

filibuster

Question 26

a procedure through which senators can end a filibuster and proceed to action, provided threefifths of senators agree to it.

Answer 26

cloture

Question 27

formal rejection by the president of a bill that has passed both houses of Congress.

Answer 27

veto

Question 28

the executive branch office that assists the president in setting national spending priorities.

Answer 28

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Question 29

a program that provides benefits for those who qualify under the law, regardless of income.

Answer 29

entitlement program

Question 30

spending required by existing laws that is "locked in" the budget.

Answer 30

mandatory spending

Question 31

spending for programs and policies at the discretion of Congress and the president.

Answer 31

discretionary spending

Question 32

the amount of money remaining when the government takes in more money than it spends.

Answer 32

budget surplus

Question 33

the difference when a government takes in less money than it spends.

Answer 33

budget deficit

Question 34

the total amount of money owed by the federal government.

Answer 34

national debt

Question 35

the idea that the main duty of a member of Congress is to carry out constituent wishes.

Answer 35

delegate role

Question 36

the idea that members of Congress should act as trustees, making decisions based on their knowledge and judgment.

Answer 36

trustee role

Question 37

representation where members of Congress balance their choices with the interests of their constituents and parties in making decisions.

Answer 37

politico role

Question 38

agreement between the parties to work together in Congress to pass legislation.

Answer 38

bipartisanship

Question 39

a slowdown or halt in Congress's ability to legislate and overcome divisions, especially those based on partisanship.

Answer 39

gridlock

Question 40

a situation that occurs when control of the presidency and one or both chambers of Congress is split between the two major parties.

Answer 40

divided government

Question 41

period at the end of a presidential term when Congress may block presidential initiatives and nominees.

Answer 41

lame duck period

Question 42

the institution responsible for carrying out laws passed by the legislative branch.

Answer 42

executive branch

Question 43

powers of the president expressly granted in the Constitution.

Answer 43

formal or enumerated power

Question 44

powers not laid out in the Constitution but used to carry out presidential duties.

Answer 44

informal powers

Question 45

an agreement with a foreign government negotiated by the president and requiring a two-thirds vote in the Senate to ratify.

Answer 45

treaty

Question 46

the annual speech from the president to Congress updating that branch on the state of national affairs.

Answer 46

State of the Union Address

Question 47

an informal veto caused when the president chooses not to sign a bill within ten days, during a time when Congress has adjourned at the end of a session.

Answer 47

pocket veto

Question 48

presidential authority to forgive an individual and set aside punishment for a crime.

Answer 48

presidential pardon

Question 49

a right claimed by presidents to keep certain conversations, records, and transcripts confidential from outside scrutiny, especially that of Congress.

Answer 49

executive privilege

Question 50

an agreement between a president and another nation that does not have the same durability in the American system as a treaty but does not require Senate ratification.

Answer 50

executive agreement

Question 51

text issued by presidents while signing a bill into law that usually consists of political statements or reasons for signing the bill but that may also include a president's interpretation of the law itself.

Answer 51

signing statement

Question 52

policy directives issued by presidents that do not require congressional approval.

Answer 52

executive order

Question 53

a law passed over President Nixon's veto that restricts the power of the president to maintain troops in combat for more than sixty days without congressional authorization.

Answer 53

war power resolution

Question 54

the process of removing a president from office, with articles of impeachment issued by a majority vote in the House of Representatives, followed by a trial in the Senate, with a two-thirds vote necessary to convict and remove.

Answer 54

impeachment

Question 55

a collection of offices within the White House organization designed mainly to provide information to the president.

Answer 55

Executive Office of the President

Question 56

an informal tool used by the president to persuade members of Congress to support his or her policy initiatives.

Answer 56

bargaining and persuasion

Question 57

presidential appeals to the public to pressure other branches of government to support his or her policies.

Answer 57

bully pulpit

Question 58

a tactic through which presidents reach out directly to the American people with the hope that the people will, in turn, put pressure upon their representatives and senators to press for a president's policy goals.

Answer 58

going public

Question 59

The branch of the federal government that interprets the laws of the nation.

Answer 59

Federal Judiciary

Question 60

the highest level of the federal judiciary, which was established in Article III of the Constitution and serves as the highest court in the nation.

Answer 60

Supreme court

Question 61

the authority of a court to hear a case first, which includes the finding of facts in the case.

Answer 61

Original jurisdiction

Question 62

the authority of a court to hear and review decisions made by lower courts in that system.

Answer 62

appellate jurisdiction

Question 63

argument by Alexander Hamilton that the federal judiciary would be unlikely to infringe upon rights and liberties but would serve as a check on the other two branches.

Answer 63

Federalist No. 78

Question 64

a Supreme Court decision that established judicial review over federal laws.

Answer 64

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Question 65

the authority of the Supreme Court to strike down a law or executive action if it conflicts with the Constitution.

Answer 65

judicial review

Question 66

a category of law covering actions that harm the community itself.

Answer 66

Criminal law

Question 67

a category of law covering cases involving private rights and relationships between individuals and groups.

Answer 67

Civil Law

Question 68

the lowest level of the federal judiciary; these courts usually have original jurisdiction in cases that start at the federal level.

Answer 68

federal district courts

Question 69

the middle level of the federal judiciary; these courts review and hear appeals from the federal district courts.

Answer 69

federal courts of appeals

Question 70

a judicial decision that guides future courts in handling similar cases.

Answer 70

precedent

Question 71

the practice of letting a previous legal decision stand.

Answer 71

stare decisis

Question 72

a binding Supreme Court opinion, which serves as precedent for future cases.

Answer 72

majority opinion

Question 73

an opinion that agrees with the majority decision, offering different or additional reasoning that does not serve as precedent.

Answer 73

concurring opinion

Question 74

an opinion that disagrees with the majority opinion and does not serve as precedent.

Answer 74

dissenting opinion

Question 75

a philosophy of constitutional interpretation that asserts justices should be cautious in overturning laws

Answer 75

judicial restraint

Question 76

a philosophy of constitutional interpretation that justices should wield the power of judicial review, sometimes creating bold new policies.

Answer 76

judicial activism