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AP Government > Unit 2 > Flashcards

Unit 2 Flashcards

1
Q

Legislation that directs specific funds to

projects within districts or states.

A

Pork-barrel spending

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2
Q

Trading of votes on legislation by members of

Congress to get their earmarks passed into legislation.

A

Logrolling

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3
Q

A body of voters in a given area who elect a

representative or senator.

A

Constituency

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4
Q

Oversight

A

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.

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5
Q

The process of determining the number of

representatives for each state using census data.

A

Apportionment

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6
Q

The intentional use of redistricting to benefit

a specific interest or group of voters.

A

Gerrymandering

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7
Q

– Drawing of district boundaries into

strange shapes to benefit a political party.

A

Partisan gerrymandering

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8
Q

Majority-minority district

A

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

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9
Q

Malapportionment

A

The uneven distribution of the population

among legislative districts.

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10
Q

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

A

Incumbency advantage

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11
Q

Speaker of the House

A

The leader of the House of Reps,

chosen by an election of its members.

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12
Q

House Majority leader

A

The person who is the second in

command of the House of Reps.

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13
Q

Whip

A

A member of Congress, chosen by his or her party

members, whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline.

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14
Q

Minority leader

A

The head of the party with the second-

highest number of seats in Congress, chosen by the party’s

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15
Q

Senate majority leader

A

The person who has the most power

in the Senate is the head of the party with the most seats.

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16
Q

Committee chair

A

Leader of a congressional committee who

has authority over the committee’s agenda.

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17
Q

Discharge Petition

A

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.

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18
Q

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.

A

House Rule committee

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19
Q

Committee of the Whole

A

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.

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20
Q

Hold

A

Delay on legislation SENATE

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21
Q

Unanimous consent agreement

A

An agreement in the Senate

that sets the terms for consideration of a bill.

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22
Q

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.

A

Fillibuster

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23
Q

Cloture

A

A procedure through which senators can end debate on

a bill and proceed to action, provided 60 senators agree to it.

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24
Q

Entitlement program

A

Program that provides benefits for those

who qualify under the law, regardless of income.

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25
Q

Spending required by existing laws that is

“locked in” the budget.

A

Mandatory Spending

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26
Q

Discretionary spending

A

Spending for programs and policies at

the discretion of Congress and the president.

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27
Q

Delegate role

A

The idea that the main duty of a member of

Congress is to carry out constituents’ wishes.

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28
Q

Trustee Role

A

The idea that members of Congress should act as

trustees, making decisions based on their knowledge and judgment.

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29
Q

Politico

A

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

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30
Q

Bipartisanship

A

Agreement between the parties to work together

in Congress to pass legislation.

31
Q

A slowdown or halt in Congress’ ability to legislate and

overcome divisions, especially those based on partisanship.

A

Gridlock

32
Q

Control of the presidency and one or both

chambers of Congress split between the two major parties.

A

Divided Government

33
Q

Lame-duck period

A

Period at the end of a presidential term

when Congress may block presidential initiatives and nominees.

34
Q

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

A

State of the Union Address

35
Q

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.

A

Pocket Veto

36
Q

Presidential authority to
release individuals convicted from a crime of legal
consequences and forgive an individual and set
aside punishment for a crime.

A

Presidential Pardon

37
Q

Executive Privilege

A

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

38
Q

Executive Agreement

A

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.

39
Q

Signing Statement

A

Written comments issued
by presidents while signing a bill into law that
usually consist of political statements or reasons
for signing the bill but that may also include a
president’s interpretation of the law itself.

40
Q

Executive Order

A

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

41
Q

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.

A

War Powers Resolution

42
Q

Impeachment

A

The process of removing a
president from office, with articles of
impeachment issues 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.

43
Q

Informal tool
used by the president to persuade members of
Congress to support his policy initiatives.

A

Bargaining and persuasion

44
Q

Presidential appeals to the public
to pressure other branches of government to
support his policies.

A

Bully Pulpit

45
Q

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.

A

Going Public

46
Q

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.

A

Supreme Court

47
Q

The authority of a
court to act as the first court to hear a case,
which included the finding of facts in the case.

A

Original Jurisdiction

48
Q

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

A

Appellate Jurisdiction

49
Q

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.

A

Federalist 78

50
Q

A Supreme
Court decision that establishes judicial review
over federal laws.

A

Judicial Review

51
Q

Criminal Law

A

A category of law covering

actions determined to harm the community.

52
Q

Civil Law

A

A category of law covering cased
involving private rights and relationships
between individuals and groups.

53
Q

Stare decisis

A

The rule of precedent,
whereby a rule or law contained in a judicial
decision is commonly viewed as binding on
judges whenever the same question is
presented.

54
Q

Concurring opinion

A

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

55
Q

A philosophy of
constitutional interpretation that justices
should be cautious in overturning laws.

A

Judicial Restraint

56
Q

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

A

Judicial Activism

57
Q

The departments and
agencies within the executive branch that carry out
the laws of the nation.

A

Federal bureaucracy

58
Q

Filling of administrative
positions as a reward for support, rather than solely
on merit.

A

Political patronage

59
Q

Pendleton Act

A

An act of Congress that created
the first U.S. Civil Service Commission to draw up
and enforce rules on hiring, promotion, and tenure
of office within the civil service (also known as the
Civil Service Reform Act of 1883).

60
Q

A system of public employment

based on rewarding party loyalists and friends.

A

Spoils system

61
Q

A system of hiring and promotion
based on competitive testing results, education, and
other qualifications rather than politics and personal
connections.

A

Merit System

62
Q

Webs of influence between

interest groups, policymakers, and policy advocates.

A

Issue network

63
Q

The bureaucracy’s role in
putting into action the laws that Congress has
passed.

A

Implementation

64
Q

Bureaucratic discretion

A

The power to decide
how a law is implemented and what Congress
meant when it passed the law.

65
Q

Regulation

A

The process through which the
federal bureaucracy makes rules that have the force
of law, to carry out the laws passed by Congress.

66
Q

Bureaucratic adjudication

A

When the federal
bureaucracy settles disputes between parties that
arise over the implementation of federal laws or
determines which individuals or groups are covered
under a regulation or program.

67
Q

Department

A

Usually the largest organization in
government with the largest mission; also the
highest rank in Federal hierarchy.

68
Q

Independent (stand-alone) agency

A

A
government entity that is independent of the
legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

69
Q

Independent regulatory commission

A

A
government agency or commission with regulatory
power whose independence is protected by
Congress.

70
Q

Government corporation

A

A government
agency that operates like a business corporation,
created to secure greater freedom of action and
flexibility for a particular program.

71
Q

Hatch Act

A

Federal statute barring federal
employees from active participation in certain kinds
of politics and protecting them from being fired on
partisan grounds.

72
Q

Oversight

A

Legislative or executive review of a
particular government program or organization. Can
be in response to a crisis of some kind or part of
routine review.

73
Q

Think tank

A

A nongovernmental organization that
seeks to influence public policy through research
and education.

AP Government (7 decks)

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