Unit 3 Flashcards
1
Q
Gerrymandering
A
state legislatures decide on maps/borders of each district; gerrymandering is when a group strategically draws the borders in order to benefit one political party over another
2
Q
Pack
A
opposite votes all into the smallest # of districts possible
3
Q
Crack
A
distributing opposing views to dilute their power
4
Q
Non-Partisan Redistribution Committee
A
creates equal parts of D/R/I; makes elections more competitive
5
Q
Congressional Power
A
ENUMERATED POWERS STATED IN AISVIII
- Raise taxes
- Borrow/coin money
- Regulate interstate commerce
- Declare war
- Create/Maintain an army/navy
- NECESSARY AND PROPER CLAUSE
6
Q
House of Representatives
A
- All bills dealing with $$ MUST start in the HoR
- Can IMPEACH POTUS or other members of the executive/judicial branch through majority vote
- Elects POTUS if no majority in the - Electoral College (1 vote per state)
7
Q
Senate
A
- Ratifies treaties made by POTUS/Exec. Branch
- Confirms POTUS nominations to positions (appointments)
- Federal Judges
- Cabinet members
- Ambassadores
- Can REMOVE POTUS/Exec. Members after holding an impeachment trial which is presided over by the Chief Justice (requires ⅔ vote from the Senate to impeach someone)
- Elected VPOTUS if no majority in the Electoral College
8
Q
Speaker of the House
A
- Most powerful, important person in Congress
- 2nd in line for POTUS
- Chosen by party with majority in HoR
- more representative of the people of the USA (theoretically)
- Choses committee chairs
- If the Speaker of the House doesn’t want a bill? It dies.
9
Q
Senate President Pro-Tempore
A
- VP is President of Senate in case of a tie
- President (Presider) over Senate in absence of VP
- Usually person with the longest service in the Senate from the majority party
- 3rd in line for POTUS
10
Q
Senate Leader
A
- Majority Leader and Minority Leader: Maj./Min. of Dem./Rep.
- Serve as spokesperson for each party—determine party direction/position on the issue, coordinate strategy for parties
- Work with members to enforce party discipline on votes (ensure the given party members support the party on the floor)
11
Q
Majority Leader
A
- Have the power to be called on first
- Sets the schedule for the day
- Creates unanimous agreements that run the Senate (limits and divides time)
12
Q
Process of bill becoming a law
A
1.) Bill introduced in 1st chamber
- Sent to most directly related committee
2.) Passed by committee and goes to the full chamber (All of the Senate/HoR)
3.) Passes first Chamber
4.) Gets sent to 2nd Chamber
- Referred to most directly related committee
5.) Passes committee and goes to full chamber
6.) Passes 2nd Chamber (same exact bill, no changes)
7.) POTUS signs bill into law
13
Q
Reality of bill beoming a law
A
- Most bills die in committees/on the floor
- Most bills that get sent to the 2nd Chamber never get votes there
- Amendments are added during debates on the floor
- Bill goes to conference committees to reconcile differences
- Both Chambers pass some version of the bill (no more changes after that)
- Bills often fail due to the changes made during debates
- POTUS can still veto the bill
- Congress can override the veto with ⅔ vote in EACH chamber
14
Q
Committees
A
- Report on a bill favorable/unfavorably
- Pigeonhole (ignore)
- Mark Up (amend/change)
15
Q
Discharge Petition
A
can bring legislation to the floor of HoR if majority wants it
16
Q
Committee Structures
A
- Divide the work of Congress into specialized groups
- Selects bills that move forward
- Hold hearings and investigations
- Where real work of Congress is (amend, pass, ignore, or kill bills)
17
Q
Pigeonholing/Marking Up
A
- ignore
- ammend/change
18
Q
Committee Chair
A
usually person from majority party with the longest, uninterrupted service in committee
19
Q
Ranking Member
A
- From the majority party
- Powers of both Maj/Min: decides when committees meet, the bills considered, whether to hold hearings, who witnesses will be, who subcommittee chairs will be
20
Q
Committee Assignments
A
Members will lobby for assignments based on:
- Own interests/expertise
- Help their prospects for reelection
- Influence on National Policy
21
Q
Trustee
A
vote based on their own knowledge and judgment
22
Q
Delegate
A
vote based on the interest of their constituents (their people/who voted for them)
23
Q
Politico
A
COMBINATION of trustee/delegate (literally everyone)
24
Q
HoR Committee - Rules Committee
A
- Determines whether, and under, what conditions a bill will be brought to the house
- Speaker chooses members
- Ways and means: taxes and raising revenue
- Appropriations: where the money goes
25
Senate Committee
The most powerful/in demand/important
- Judiciary
- Foreign Relations
- Finance
- Appropriations
26
Standing Committee
Permanent; represent major areas of government
27
Select Committee
One chamber, created to study and draw attention to one issue; usually temporary but sometimes permanent
28
Joint Committee
Members from both HoR and Senate; serve as a study group and report findings
29
Conference Committee
Special joint committee; created for ONE BILL ONCE; reconcile differences, negotiate final bill
30
House Debate
Amendments must be germane (directly relate to bill/issue at hand)
31
Senate Debate
Amendments can be completely unrelated (Alaska Lady)
32
Pork Barrel Legislation
- gives tangible benefits to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return
- $ and projects that do not relate to the issue at hand
33
Floor Debates
virtually unlimited/less formal
34
Fillbuster
Senate talks the bill to death/amendment—basically stalling
35
Cloture
End a debate with 3/5 vote in the Senate (60 people)
36
Unanimous Consent
Agreement to set aside the usual rules/procedures to expedite proceedings
37
Pocket Veto
If Congress adjourns within 10 day of sending a bill and the bill is neither explicitly signed nor vetoed, it dies
38
Checks on Legislative Branch
- POTUS can veto
- The bill dies unless Congress overrides it
- Pocket Veto: If Congress adjourns within 10 day of sending a bill and the bill is neither explicitly signed nor vetoed, it dies
- Doing nothing: becomes law if it sits for more than 10 days (minus Sundays)
- SCOTUS can rules laws as unconstitutional
39
Executive Formal Roles/Powers
- Head of State: symbol/represent USA
- Chief Executive:
- Execute laws passed by Congress
- Appoint Cabinet, Fed. Judges
- Grant Pardons
- Commander-in-Chief of military and State militia/National gaurd
- Chief Diplomat:
- Foreign Affairs
- Appoints/receive Ambassadors
40
Executive Informal Roles/Powers
- Executive Orders
- Directives to bureaucracy about how to carry out laws
- Overturned by new laws
- Challenged and overturned by the Supreme Court
- Signed Statement: informs Congress and the public of POTUS interpretation of the law—prepares them
- Executive Privilege: claim by POTUS to withhold certain information from public/Courts/Congress
- Persuader-in-Chief: persuade public and bargain with Congress
- “Bully Pulpit”: speeches to the public
- Agenda Setting
- Party Leader
- Helps elect party members
- Coattails: popularity of POTUS getting others candidates from the same party to be elected
- Executive Agreements: international agreement between the president and another country, which does not require the consent of the Senate
41
Agenda Setting
- Presidential Communication
- What will be talked about/legislated
42
Cabinet Members and Cabinet Departments
- Advisory board to POTUS
- POTUS appoints over 3k people (approved by Senate)
- “Revolving Door”: same people that rotate in and out
- Important Departments: state, defense, agriculture, justice (includes FBI), health and human services (FDA, medicare/medicaid), transportation, homeland security (TSA, terrorist attacks)
43
Bureaucracy Rulemaking/Implementation
take laws passed by Congress and write/enforce rules and regulations that put the laws into action
44
Congressional Oversight
- EXECUTIVE
- Review, monitor, and supervise bureaucratic agencies
- Encourages the bureaucracies to just do what Congress intended it to be
- Accountability!
45
Power of the Purse
- EXECUTIVE
- ability to check bureaucracies by withholding or changing the funds
46
Interest Groups
any association/group attempting to influence public policy in their favor
47
Iron Triangle
relationship between Congressional Committees, bureaucracy, and interest groups during policy-making
48
Checks on the Executive Branch
- Congress can override veto with 2/3 vote in both chambers
- Judicial Branch can declare the President’s actions as unconstitutional
49
Becoming SCOTUS Judge
appointed by POTUS, confirmed by Senate, serves as long as they are on good behavior
50
District Court
Trial; witness give testimony; Judge rules guilty/not guilty (criminal) or liable/not liable (civil)
51
Appellate Court
circuit courts; only review cases that originated in district courts; NOTHING NEW!!!!; review procedures/decisions of District to ensure fairness
52
SCOTUS Court
- deal almost exclusively with Constitutional Laws; supreme law of the land!
- Cases of National Importance
- Lower Courts overturn a law by Congress
- Lower Courts split (law applied differently in different states)
- Rule of 4: if 4 or more judges are interested, case is accepted
53
Original Jurisdiction
power to hear the case for the first time
54
Judicial Review
- Making sure that the laws passed agree with the Constitution
- If not, they are null and void
55
Stare Decisis
courts and judges should honor “precedent”—or the decisions, rulings, and opinions from prior cases
56
Strict Construction/Originalism
look at the literal text and the framer’s intent
57
Living Constitution
applying the principles and values of the Constitution to modern situations/questions
58
Judicial Activism
- Willingness to overturn precedent and laws
- Actively step in when rights are violated
- Be involved in difficult questions
59
Judicial Restaint
- Leave policy-making to elected officials
- Avoid overturning laws/precedents unless it clearly violates a Constitutional Principle
60
Checks on the Judicial Branch
- POTUS elects judges
- Senate approves/confirms them
- Judges can be removed through impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate
