Unit 4 - Part 1

Question 1

Advice and Consent

Answer 1

Senators can recommend or reject major presidential appointees such as Cabinet secretaries or federal judges.

Question 2

Appropriations Committee

Answer 2

Congressional committee that deals with federal spending.

Question 3

Appellate Jurisdiction

Answer 3

Authority of a court to hear an appeal from a lower court.

Question 4

Bureaucracy

Answer 4

Departments, agencies, bureaus, and commissions in the executive branch of government.

Question 5

Bully Pulpit

Answer 5

A brightly lit stage where the president can pitch ideas to the American people.

Question 6

Cabinet

Answer 6

The principal officers in each of the executive departments that advise the President

Question 7

Casework

Answer 7

Personal work done by a member of Congress for his constituents.

Question 8

Chief of Staff

Answer 8

Appointed by the President, without Senate approval, and helps advise the President

Question 9

Civil Service Reform Act

Answer 9

Altered how a bureaucrat is dismissed, limited preferences for veterans to balance genders in federal employment, and put uppers level appointments back into the president’s hands.

Question 10

Closed Rule

Answer 10

Rules Committee rule that bans amendments to a bill.

Question 11

Cloture

Answer 11

Senate motion to end a filibuster that requires a 3/5 vote.

Question 12

Concurring Opinion

Answer 12

Written by a Supreme Court Justice who voted with the majority, but for different reasons.

Question 13

Conference Committee

Answer 13

Works out a compromise between differing House-Senate versions of a bill.

Question 14

Congressional Oversight

Answer 14

Ensure that executive branch agencies, such as the FBI, are carrying out the policy or program as defined by Congress.

Question 15

Constituents

Answer 15

The people who are represented by elected officials.

Question 16

Deficit

Answer 16

Difference between spending and revenue

Question 17

Delegate Model

Answer 17

Constituents elect their representatives as delegates for their constituency. These delegates act only as a mouthpiece for the wishes of their constituency, and have no autonomy from the constituency

Question 18

Discharge Petition

Answer 18

A motion to force a bill to the House floor that has been bottled up in committee.

Question 19

Discretionary Spending

Answer 19

Funds that congressional committees debate and decide how to divide up.

Question 20

Dissenting Opinion

Answer 20

Written by a Supreme Court Justice (or Justices) who express a minority viewpoint in a case.

Question 21

Earmark

Answer 21

When funds are directed to a very specific purpose, such as building a senior citizen center in a legislators district.

Question 22

Executive Agreement

Answer 22

An agreement between the President and another head of state that, unlike a treaty, does not require Senate consent.

Question 23

Executive Order

Answer 23

Presidential rule or regulation that has the force of law.

Question 24

Executive Privilege

Answer 24

The privilege of a President and his staff to withhold their “privileged” conversations from Congress or the courts.

Question 25

Filibuster

Answer 25

Nonstop Senate debate that prevents a bill from coming to a vote.

Question 26

Finance Committee

Answer 26

Senate committee that handles tax bills.

Question 27

Franking Privilege

Answer 27

Allows members of Congress to send mail postage free.

Question 28

Freedom of Information Act

Answer 28

Gives the public the right to request access to records or information

Question 29

Germane

Answer 29

Amendments in the House to a bill must be directly related to the topic of the bill.