Unit 2 vocab

Question 1

incumbent

Answer 1

the finding of a government position

Question 2

pork barrel

Answer 2

Pork barrel, or simply pork, is a metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to direct expenditures to a representative’s district.

Question 3

speaker of house

Answer 3

highest position in the house

Question 4

whips

Answer 4

make sure party is uniform in voting

Question 5

majority leader

Answer 5

Leads majority party

Question 6

minority leader

Answer 6

leader of minority party

Question 7

standing committees

Answer 7

permanent committee in the government that focuses on a specific area of public policy

Question 8

conference committees

Answer 8

temporary, ad hoc panel composed of House and Senate conferees formed for the purpose of reconciling differences in legislation that has passed both chambers

Question 9

congressional caucus

Answer 9

Caucuses are meetings run by political parties that are held at the county, district, or precinct level.

Question 10

legislative oversight

Answer 10

The legislature’s review and evaluation of selected activities conducted by the executive branch

Question 11

filibuster

Answer 11

action designed to prolong debate and delay or prevent a vote on a bill, resolution, amendment, or other debatable question.

Question 12

22nd amendment

Answer 12

No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice

Question 13

25th amendment

Answer 13

clarifies that the vice president becomes president if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office by impeachment

Question 14

Impeachment

Answer 14

Impeachment is the process of bringing charges against a government official for wrongdoing

Question 15

executive order

Answer 15

temporary order president makes that needs no approval, but can be removed by next president

Question 16

cabinet

Answer 16

The Cabinet is an advisory body made up of the heads of the 15 executive departments

Question 17

national security council

Answer 17

advises the President on national security and foreign policy.

Question 18

council of economic advisers

Answer 18

advising the President on economic policy based on data, research, and evidence.

Question 19

Office of management and budget

Answer 19

responsible for overseeing Federal agencies’ information technology practices.

Question 20

veto

Answer 20

the power of the President to block or complicate passage of a legislation by refusing to sign it into law

Question 21

pocket veto

Answer 21

bill fails to become law because the president does not sign it within the ten-day period and cannot return the bill to Congress because Congress is no longer in session.

Question 22

war powers resolution

Answer 22

check the U.S. president’s power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of the U.S. Congress.

Question 23

legislative veto

Answer 23

President or other executive branch official to present actions proposed pursuant to a law to either or both Houses of Congress or to specific committees before the proposed action becomes effective.

Question 24

budget

Answer 24

the amount of money that the federal government has to spend

Question 25

expenditures

Answer 25

Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments.

Question 26

revenue

Answer 26

What $ government makes

Question 27

deficit

Answer 27

when the federal government's spending exceeds its revenues.

Question 28

national debt

Answer 28

total amount of outstanding borrowing by the U.S. Federal Government accumulated over the nation's history

Question 29

Tax expenditures

Answer 29

revenue losses attributable to provisions of the federal tax laws which allow a special exclusion, exemption, or deduction from gross income or which provide a special credit, a preferential rate of tax, or a deferral of tax liability

Question 30

house ways and means committee

Answer 30

has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other programs including Social Security, unemployment benefits, Medicare, the enforcement of child support laws, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, foster care, and adoption programs

Question 31

senate finance committee

Answer 31

has jurisdiction over both Medicare and Medicaid, while the House Ways and Means Committee only has jurisdiction over Medicare.

Question 32

budget resolution

Answer 32

document providing Congress an opportunity to lay out its own spending, revenue, borrowing and economic goals for the coming fiscal year, as well as the next five future fiscal years.

Question 33

reconciliation

Answer 33

enhance Congress's ability to change current law in order to bring revenue and spending levels into conformity with the policies of the budget resolution.

Question 34

authorization bill

Answer 34

create, modify, and/or extend agencies, programs, and/or programs for a limited amount of time

Question 35

appropriations bill

Answer 35

law of Congress that provides an agency with budget authority.

Question 36

continuing resolution

Answer 36

appropriation, in the form of a joint resolution, that provides budget authority for Federal agencies,

Question 37

bureaucracy

Answer 37

body of non-elected government officials, but is nowadays understood as an administrative system used by corporations and public institutions.

Question 38

pendleton civil service act

Answer 38

provided for selection of some government employees by competitive exams rather than ties to politicians, and made it illegal to fire or demote some government officials for political reasons.

Question 39

hatch act

Answer 39

restricts the political activity of individuals principally employed by state, District of Columbia, or local executive agencies and who work in connection with programs financed in whole or in part by federal loans or grants.

Question 40

independent regulatory commission

Answer 40

type of independent agency that is created by the government to regulate and oversee a specific industry or sector

Question 41

government corporation

Answer 41

government agency that is established by Congress to provide a market-oriented public service

Question 42

independent executive agency

Answer 42

those agencies that exist outside of the federal executive branch

Question 43

justiciable disputes

Answer 43

legal conflict that is capable of being decided by a court, meaning it involves a real controversy between parties with a concrete issue that can be resolved through legal principles

Question 44

amicus curiae briefs

Answer 44

someone who is not a party to a case, but offers information that bears on the case, and has not been solicited by any of the parties to assist a court.

Question 45

original jurisdiction

Answer 45

Original jurisdiction means that the Supreme Court is the first, and only, Court to hear a case.

Question 46

appellate jurisdiction

Answer 46

Appellate jurisdiction includes the power to reverse or modify the lower court's decision

Question 47

district courts

Answer 47

The district courts are the general trial courts of the federal court system.

Question 48

court of appeals

Answer 48

Appellate courts review the procedures and the decisions in the trial court to make sure that the proceedings were fair and that the proper law was applied correctly.

Question 49

solicitor general

Answer 49

an officer of the Department of Justice, who oversees federal representation in all litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Question 50

opinion

Answer 50

personal statement that is not a fact

Question 51

stare decisis

Answer 51

the doctrine that courts will adhere to precedent in making their decisions

Question 52

precedent

Answer 52

court decision in an earlier case with facts and legal issues similar to a dispute currently before a court.

Question 53

originalism

Answer 53

Persons who favor heavy reliance on originalist sources (text and intentions)

Question 54

judicial review

Answer 54

fundamental to the U.S. system of government, that the actions of the executive and legislative branches of government are subject to review and possible invalidation by the judiciary.

Question 55

judicial restraint

Answer 55

the concept of a judge not injecting his or her own preferences into legal proceedings and rulings.

Question 56

judicial activism

Answer 56

the practice of judges making rulings based on their policy views rather than their honest interpretation of the current law

Question 57

political questions

Answer 57

term political question expresses the principle that some issues are either entrusted solely to another branch of government or are beyond the competence of the Judiciary to review.