UNIT 4 Flashcards
(204 cards)
1
Q
Constituent
A
One of the persons represented by a legislator or other elected or appointed official.
2
Q
Homestyle
A
The actions and behaviors of a member of Congress aimed at the constituents and intended to win the support and trust of the voters at home.
3
Q
Hillstyle
A
The actions and behaviors of a member of Congress in Washington. D.C., intended to promote policies and the member’s own career aspirations.
4
Q
Bicameralism
A
The division of legislature into two separate assemblies.
5
Q
Lawmaking
A
The process of establishing the legal rules that govern society.
6
Q
Logrolling
A
An arrangement in which two or more members of Congress agree in advance to support each other’s bills.
7
Q
Representation
A
The function of members of Congress as elected officials representing the views of their constituents.
8
Q
Trustee
A
A legislator who acts according to her or his conscience and the broad interests of the entire society.
9
Q
Instructed Delegate
A
A legislator who is an agent of the voters who elected him or her and who votes according to the views of constituents regardless of personal beliefs.
10
Q
Casework
A
Personal work for constituents by members of Congress.
11
Q
Ombudsperson
A
A person who hears and investigates complaints by private individuals against public officials or agencies.
12
Q
Oversight
A
The process by which Congress follows up on laws it has enacted to ensure that they are being enforced and administered to the way Congress intended.
13
Q
Enumerated Power
A
A power specifically granted to the nation government by the Constitution. The first 17 clauses of Article I, Section 8, specify most of the enumerate powers of Congress.
14
Q
Rules Committee
A
A standing committee of the House of Representatives that provides special rules under which specific bills can be debated, amended, and considered by the House.
15
Q
Rule
A
The proposal by the Rules Committee of the House that states the conditions for debate for one piece of legislation.
16
Q
Unanimous Consent Agreement
A
An agreement on the rules of debate for proposed legislation in the Senate that is approved by all the members.
17
Q
Filibuster
A
The use of the Senate’s tradition of unlimited debate as a delaying tactic to block a bill.
18
Q
Unorthodox Lawmaking
A
The use of out-of-the-ordinary parliamentary tactics to pass legislation.
19
Q
Direct Primary
A
An intraparty election in which the voters select the candidates who will run on a party’s ticket in the subsequent general election.
20
Q
Party Identifier
A
A person who identifies with a political party.
21
Q
Reapportionment
A
The allocation of seats in the House of Representatives to each state after each census.
22
Q
Redistricting
A
The redrawing of the boundaries of the congressional districts within each state.
23
Q
Justiciable Question
A
A question that may be raised and reviewed in court.
24
Q
Gerrymandering
A
The drawing of legislative district boundary lines to obtain partisan or factional advantage. A district is said to be gerrymandered when its shape is manipulated by the dominant party in the state legislature to maximize electoral strength at the expense of the minority party.
25
Franking
A policy that enables members of Congress to send material through the mail by substituting their facsimile signature (frank) for postage.
26
Discharge Petition
A procedure by which a bill in the House of Representatives may be forced (discharged) out of a committee that has refused to report it for consideration by the House. The petition must be signed by an absolute majority (218) of the representatives and is used only on rare occasions.
27
Standing Committee
A permanent committee in the House or Senate that considers bills within a certain subject are.
28
Select Committee
A temporary legislative committee established for a limited time period and for a special purpose.
29
Joint Committee
A legislative committee composed of members from both chambers of Congress.
30
Conference Committee
A special joint committee appointed to reconcile differences when bills pass the two chambers of Congress in different forms.
31
Seniority System
A custom followed in both chambers of Congress specifying that the member of the majority with the longest term of continuous service will be given preference when a committee chairperson (or holder of some other significant post) is selected.
32
Safe Seat
A district that returns a legislator with 55 percent of the vote or more.
33
Speaker of the House
The presiding officer in the House of Representatives. The Speaker is always a member of the majority party and is the most powerful and influential member of the House.
34
Majority Leader of the House
A legislative position held by an important party member in the House of Representatives. The majority leader is selected by the majority party in caucus or conference to foster cohesion among party members and to act as a spokesperson for the majority party in the House.
35
Minority Leader in the House
The party leader elected by the minority party in the House.
36
Whip
A member of Congress who aids the majority or minority leader of the House or the Senate.
37
President Pro Tempore
The temporary presiding officer of the Senate in the absence of the vice president.
38
Senate Majority Leader
The chief spokesperson of the majority party in the Senate, who directs the legislative program and party strategy.
39
Senate Minority Leader
The party officer in the Senate who commands the minority party's opposition to the policies of the majority party and directs the legislative program and strategy of his or her party.
40
Conservative Coalition
An alliance of Republicans and Southern Democrats that can form in the House or the Senate to oppose liberal legislation and support conservative legislation.
41
Blue Dog Democrats
Members of Congress from more moderate states or districts who sometimes "cross over" to vote with Republicans on legislation.
42
Earmarks
Funding appropriations that are specifically designated for a named project in a member's state or district.
43
Pork
Special projects or appropriations that are intended to benefit a member's district or state; slang for earmarks.
44
Executive Budget
The budget prepared and submitted by the president to Congress.
45
Fiscal Year (FY)
A 12-month period that is used for bookkeeping, or accounting purposes. Usually, the fiscal year does not coincide with the calendar year. For example, the federal government's fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30.
46
Spring Review
The annual process in which the Office of Management and Budget requires federal agencies to review their programs, activities, and goals and submit their requests for funding for the next fiscal year.
47
Fall Review
The annual process in which the Office of Management and Budget, after receiving formal federal agency requests for funding for the next fiscal year, reviews the requests, makes changes, and submits its recommendations to the president.
48
Authorization
A formal declaration by the legislative committee that a certain amount of funding may be available to an agency. Some authorizations terminate in a year; others are renewable automatically, without further congressional action.
49
Appropriation
The passage, by Congress, of a spending bill specifying the amount of authorized funds that actually will be allocated for an agency's use.
50
First Budget Resolution
A resolution passed by Congress in May that sets overall revenue and spending goals for the following fiscal year.
51
Second Budget Resolution
A resolution passed by Congress in September that sets "binding" limits on taxes and spending for the following fiscal year.
52
Continuing Resolution
A temporary funding law that Congress passes when an appropriations bill has not been decided by the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1.
53
The founders of the American republic believed that most of the power that would be exercised by a national government should be in the hands of
the legislature
54
Casework is
Constituent service
55
A representative who primarily represents the wishes of his or her constituents is acting as a(n)
instructed delegate
56
The concept of cloture refers to
a process that attempts to limit debate on a bill in the Senate.
57
"Money bills"
must originate in the House.
58
12th amendment
An amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1804, that specifies the separate election of the president and vice president by the electoral college.
59
Head of State
The role of the president as ceremonial head of the government.
60
Chief executive
The role of the president as head of the executive branch of the government.
61
Signing Statement
A written declaration that a president may make when signing a bill into law. Usually, such statements point out sections of the law that the president deems unconstitutional.
62
Civil service
A collective term for the body of employees working for the government. Generally, civil service is understood to apply to all those who gained government employment through a merit system.
63
Appointment Power
The authority vested in the president to fill a government office or position. Positions filled by presidential appointment include those in the executive branch and the federal judiciary, commissioned officers in the Armed Forces, and members of the independent regulatory commissions
64
Reprieve
A formal postponement of the execution of a sentence imposed by a court of law
65
Pardon
A release from the punishment for or legal consequences of a crime; a pardon can be granted by the president before or after a conviction.
66
Commander in Chief
The role of the president as supreme commander of the military forces of the United States and of the state National Guard units when they are called into federal service.
67
War Powers Resolution
A law passed in 1973 spelling out the conditions under which the president can commit troops without congressional approval.
68
Advice and Consent
Terms in the Constitution describing the US Senate's power to review and approve treaties and presidential appointments.
69
Chief Diplomat
The role of the president in recognizing foreign governments, making treaties, and effecting executive agreements.
70
Diplomatic recognition
The formal acknowledgment of a foreign government as legitimate.
71
Executive agreement
An international agreement made by the president, without Senatorial ratification, with the head of a foreign state.
72
Chief legislator
The role of the president in influencing the making of laws.
73
State of the Union message
An annual message to Congress in which the president proposes a legislative program. The message is addressed not only to Congress but also to the American people into the world.
74
Veto message
The president's formal explanation of a veto when legislation is returned to Congress.
75
Pocket veto
A special veto exercised by the chief executive after a legislative body has adjourned. Bills not signed by the chief executive die after a specific period of time. If Congress wishes to reconsider such a bill, it must be reintroduced in the following session of Congress
76
Line-item veto
The power of an executive to veto individual lines are items within a piece of legislation without vetoing the entire bill.
77
Constitutional power
A power vested in the president by Article II of the Constitution.
78
Statutory power
A power created for the president through laws enacted by Congress.
79
Expressed power
A power of the president that is expressly written into the Constitution or into statutory law.
80
Inherent power
A power of the president derived from the statements in the Constitution that "the executive power shall be vested in a president" and that the president should "take care that the laws be faithfully executed"; defined to practice rather than through law.
81
Patronage
The practice of rewarding faithful party workers and followers with government employment and contracts.
82
Washington community
Individuals regularly involved with politics in Washington, D.C.
83
Emergency power
An inherent power exercised by the president during a period of national crisis.
84
Executive order
A rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect of law. Executive orders can implement and get administrative effect to provisions in the Constitution, to treaties, and to statutes.
85
Federal Register
A publication of the US government that prints executive orders, rules, and regulations.
86
Executive privilege
The right of executive officials to withhold information from or to refuse to appear before a legislative committee.
87
Impeachment
An action by the House of Representatives to accuse the president, vice president, or other civil officers of the United States of committing "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
88
Cabinet
An advisory group selected by the president to aid in making decisions. The Cabinet includes the heads of 15 executive departments and others named by the president.
89
Kitchen cabinet
The informal advisers to the president
90
Executive Office of the President (EOP)
An organization established by Pres. Franklin D .Roosevelt to assist the president in carrying out major duties.
91
White House office
The personal office of the president which tends to presidential political needs and manages the media.
92
Permanent campaign
A coordinated and planned strategy carried out by the White House to increase the president's popularity and support.
93
Chief of Staff
The person who is named to direct the White House Office and advise the president.
94
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
A division of the executive office of the president. The OMB assist the president in preparing the annual budget, clearing and coordinating departmental agency budgets, and supervising the administration of the federal budget.
95
National Security Council (NSC)
An agency in the executive office of the president that advises the president on national security.
96
Policy Tsar
A high-ranking member of the executive office of the president appointed to coordinate action in one specific policy area.
97
25th amendment
A 1967 amendment to the Constitution that establishes procedures for filling presidential and vice presidential vacancies and makes provisions for presidential disability.
98
12th amendment
An amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1804, that specifies the separate election of the president and vice president by the electoral college.
99
Head of State
The role of the president as ceremonial head of the government.
100
Chief executive
The role of the president as head of the executive branch of the government.
101
Signing Statement
A written declaration that a president may make when signing a bill into law. Usually, such statements point out sections of the law that the president deems unconstitutional.
102
Civil service
A collective term for the body of employees working for the government. Generally, civil service is understood to apply to all those who gained government employment through a merit system.
103
Appointment Power
The authority vested in the president to fill a government office or position. Positions filled by presidential appointment include those in the executive branch and the federal judiciary, commissioned officers in the Armed Forces, and members of the independent regulatory commissions
104
Reprieve
A formal postponement of the execution of a sentence imposed by a court of law
105
Pardon
A release from the punishment for or legal consequences of a crime; a pardon can be granted by the president before or after a conviction.
106
Commander in Chief
The role of the president as supreme commander of the military forces of the United States and of the state National Guard units when they are called into federal service.
107
War Powers Resolution
A law passed in 1973 spelling out the conditions under which the president can commit troops without congressional approval.
108
Advice and Consent
Terms in the Constitution describing the US Senate's power to review and approve treaties and presidential appointments.
109
Chief Diplomat
The role of the president in recognizing foreign governments, making treaties, and effecting executive agreements.
110
25th amendment
A 1967 amendment to the Constitution that establishes procedures for filling presidential and vice presidential vacancies and makes provisions for presidential disability.
111
Policy Tsar
A high-ranking member of the executive office of the president appointed to coordinate action in one specific policy area.
112
National Security Council (NSC)
An agency in the executive office of the president that advises the president on national security.
113
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
A division of the executive office of the president. The OMB assist the president in preparing the annual budget, clearing and coordinating departmental agency budgets, and supervising the administration of the federal budget.
114
Chief of Staff
The person who is named to direct the White House Office and advise the president.
115
Permanent campaign
A coordinated and planned strategy carried out by the White House to increase the president's popularity and support.
116
White House office
The personal office of the president which tends to presidential political needs and manages the media.
117
Executive Office of the President (EOP)
An organization established by Pres. Franklin D .Roosevelt to assist the president in carrying out major duties.
118
Kitchen cabinet
The informal advisers to the president
119
Cabinet
An advisory group selected by the president to aid in making decisions. The Cabinet includes the heads of 15 executive departments and others named by the president.
120
Impeachment
An action by the House of Representatives to accuse the president, vice president, or other civil officers of the United States of committing "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
121
Executive privilege
The right of executive officials to withhold information from or to refuse to appear before a legislative committee.
122
Federal Register
A publication of the US government that prints executive orders, rules, and regulations.
123
Executive order
A rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect of law. Executive orders can implement and get administrative effect to provisions in the Constitution, to treaties, and to statutes.
124
Emergency power
An inherent power exercised by the president during a period of national crisis.
125
Washington community
Individuals regularly involved with politics in Washington, D.C.
126
Patronage
The practice of rewarding faithful party workers and followers with government employment and contracts.
127
Inherent power
A power of the president derived from the statements in the Constitution that "the executive power shall be vested in a president" and that the president should "take care that the laws be faithfully executed"; defined to practice rather than through law.
128
Expressed power
A power of the president that is expressly written into the Constitution or into statutory law.
129
Statutory power
A power created for the president through laws enacted by Congress.
130
Constitutional power
A power vested in the president by Article II of the Constitution.
131
Line-item veto
The power of an executive to veto individual lines are items within a piece of legislation without vetoing the entire bill.
132
Pocket veto
A special veto exercised by the chief executive after a legislative body has adjourned. Bills not signed by the chief executive die after a specific period of time. If Congress wishes to reconsider such a bill, it must be reintroduced in the following session of Congress
133
Veto message
The president's formal explanation of a veto when legislation is returned to Congress.
134
State of the Union message
An annual message to Congress in which the president proposes a legislative program. The message is addressed not only to Congress but also to the American people into the world.
135
Chief legislator
The role of the president in influencing the making of laws.
136
Executive agreement
An international agreement made by the president, without Senatorial ratification, with the head of a foreign state.
137
Diplomatic recognition
The formal acknowledgment of a foreign government as legitimate.
138
The following two presidents are the only ones in American history to have actually been impeached
Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.
139
involves the ability of the president and executive branch officials to withhold certain information from Congress and the courts.
Executive Privledge
140
The seizure of the nations steel mills by President _____ was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Truman
141
As Commander in Chief the president is
the ultimate decision maker in military matters.
142
A veto is
. a clear-cut indication of the presidents dissatisfaction with legislation.
143
The State of the Union message
is required by the Constitution and gives a broad view of what the president wishes the legislature to accomplish during the session.
144
Bureaucracy
A large organization that is structured hierarchically to carry out specific functions.
145
Weberian Model
A model of bureaucracy developed by the German sociologist Max Weber, who viewed bureaucracies as rational, hierarchical organizations in which decisions are based on logical reasoning.
146
Acquisitive Model
A model of bureaucracy that views top-level bureaucrats as seeking to expand the size of their budgets and staff to gain greater power.
147
Monopolistic Model
A model of bureaucracy that compares bureaucracies to monopolistic business firms. Lack of competition in either circumstance leads to inefficient and costly operations.
148
Administrative Agency
A federal, state, or local government unit established to perform a specific function. Administrative agencies are created and authorized by legislative bodies to administer and enforce specific laws.
149
Cabinet Department
One of the 15 departments of the executive branch (State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Energy, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs).
150
Line Organization
In the federal government, an administrative unit that is directly accountable to the president.
151
Independent Executive Agency
A federal agency that is not part of a Cabinet department but reports directly to the president.
152
Independent Regulatory Agency
An agency outside the major executive departments charged with making and implementing rules and regulations.
153
Capture
The act by which an industry being regulated by a government agency gains direct or indirect control over agency personnel and decision makers.
154
Government Corporation
An agency of government that administers a quasi-business enterprise. These corporations are used when activities are primarily commercial.
155
Spoils System
The awarding of government jobs to political supporters and friends.
156
Merit System
The selection, retention, and promotion of government employees on the basis of competitive examinations.
157
Pendleton Act (Civil Service Reform Act)
An act that established the principle of employment on the basis of merit and created the Civil Service Commission to administer the personnel service.
158
Civil Service Commission
The initial central personnel agency of the national government, created in 1883.
159
Government in the Sunshine Act
A law that requires all committee-directed federal agencies to conduct their business regularly in public session.
160
Sunset Legislation
Laws requiring that existing programs be reviewed regularly for their effectiveness and be terminated unless specifically extended as a result of these reviews.
161
Privatization
The replacement of government services with services provided by private forms.
162
Whistleblower
Someone who brings to public attention gross governmental inefficiency or an illegal action.
163
Enabling Legislation
A statute enacted by Congress that authorizes the creation of an administrative agency and specifies the name, purpose, composition, functions, and powers of the agency being created.
164
Iron Triangle
The three-way alliance among legislators, bureaucrats, and interest groups to make or preserve policies that benefit their respective interests.
165
Issue Network
A group of individuals or organizations--which may consist of legislators and legislative staff members, interest group leaders, bureaucrats, the media, scholars, and other experts--that supports a particular policy position on a given issue.
166
The Hatch Act
prohibits federal employees from active involvement in political campaigns
167
The iron triangle is
an alliance of related interest groups, Congressional committees, and bureaucracy..
168
A government agency is subject to “capture” when
the industry an agency regulates controls the agency that is supposed to regulate it.
169
Judicial review
The power of the Supreme Court or any court to hold a law or other legal action as unconstitutional.
170
Common law
Judge-made law that originated in England from decisions shaped according to prevailing custom. Decisions were applied to similar situations and gradually became common to the nation.
171
Precedent
A court rule bearing on subsequent legal decisions in similar cases. Judges rely on precedents in deciding cases.
172
Stare Decisis
To stand on decided cases; the judicial policy of following precedents established by past decisions.
173
Case law
Judicial interpretations of common-law principles and doctrines, as well as interpretations of constitutional law, statutory law, and administrative law
174
Jurisdiction
The authority of a court to decide certain cases. Not all courts have the authority to decide all cases. Two jurisdictional issues are where a case arises as well as its subject matter.
175
Federal question
A question that has to do with the US Constitution, acts of Congress, or treaties. A federal question provides a basis for federal jurisdiction.
176
Diversity of citizenship
The condition that exists when the parties to a lawsuit are citizens of different states, or when the parties are citizens of a US state and citizen or the government of a foreign country. Diversity of citizenship can provide a basis for federal jurisdiction.
177
Trial court
The court in which most cases begin.
178
General jurisdiction
Exists when a courts authority to hear cases is not significantly restricted. A court of general jurisdiction normally can hear a broad range of cases.
179
Limited jurisdiction
Exists when a court's authority to hear cases is restricted to certain types of claims such as tax claims or bankruptcy petitions.
180
Appellate court
A court having jurisdiction to review cases and issues that were originally tried in lower courts.
181
Litigate
To engage in a legal proceeding or seek relief in a court of law; to carry on a lawsuit.
182
Class-Action Suit
A lawsuit filed by an individual seeking damages for "all persons similarly situated"
183
Writ of certiorari
An order issued by higher court to a lower court to send up the record of a case for review.
184
Rule of four
A United States Supreme Court procedure by which four justices must vote to grant a petition for review if a case is to come before the full court
185
Oral arguments
The verbal arguments presented in person by attorneys to in appellate court. Each attorney presents reasons to the court why the court should rule in her or his client's favor.
186
Opinion
The statement by a judge or a court of the decision reached in a case. The opinion sets forth the applicable law and details the reasoning on which the ruling was based
187
Affirm
To declare that a court ruling is valid and must stand
188
Reverse
To annul or make void a court ruling in account of some error or irregularity.
189
Remand
To send a case back to the court that originally heard it.
190
Unanimous opinion
A court opinion or determination on which all judges agree
191
Majority opinion
The court opinion reflecting the views of the majority of the judges.
192
Concurring opinion
A separate opinion prepared by a judge to support the decision of the majority of the court but who wants to make or clarify a particular point or to voice disapproval of the grounds on which the decision was made
193
Dissenting opinion
A separate opinion in which a judge dissents from (disagrees with) the conclusion reached by the majority on the court and expounds his or her own views about the case.
194
Senatorial courtesy
In Federal District Court judgeship nominations, a tradition allowing a senator to veto a judicial appointment in his or her state.
195
Judicial activism
A doctrine holding that the Supreme Court should take an active role by using its powers to check the activities of governmental bodies when those bodies exceed their authority
196
Judicial restraint
A doctrine holding that the Supreme Court should defer to the decisions made by the elected representatives of the people in the legislative and executive branches.
197
Strict construction
A judicial philosophy that looks to the "letter of the law" when interpreting the Constitution or a particular statute.
198
Broad construction
A judicial philosophy that looks to the context and purpose of a law when making an interpretation.
199
Judicial implementation
The way in which court decisions are translated into action
200
Political question
An issue that a court believes should be decided by the executive or legislative branch
201
Most American law is based on
the English legal system.
202
A dissenting opinion can be important because
it often forms the basis of the arguments used later to reverse the majority opinion in a similar case.
203
Standing to sue is
. determined by whether a person or group has suffered harm as a result of the action that led to the dispute in question.
204
Civil unions are
legally recognized partnerships that provide some or all of the state benefits provided to married couples.
