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55 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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standing committee |
permanent congressional committees with a responsibility to a particular ares of public policy |
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conference committees |
temporary committee that is formed to bargain over the differences in the House and the Senate versions of a bill |
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committee jurisdictions |
the policy area in which it is authorized to act (this is assigned) |
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congressional party leaders |
elected individuals who will lead their party's efforts in the chamber |
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speaker of the house of representatives |
mentioned in the constitution, 3rd in line to president's office, majority elected along partisan lines; 1. makes appointments to various legislative committees 2. appoints members to the rules committee 3. establishes strategy for the majority |
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party whip |
assists the speaker along with the majority leader; informs party members when critical votes are scheduled, lets party members know how the leadership stands on a bill |
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reapportionment |
the reallocation of House seats among states after each census as a result of population changes |
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re-districting |
the process of altering election districts in order to make them as nearly equal as possible; takes place every ten years after the census |
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veto |
president's rejection of a bill therefore keeping it from becoming law, unless congress overrides the veto |
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mid-term election |
the congressional election that occurs midway through the president's term of office |
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rules committee |
makes rules under which legislation is voted upon or passed (ex. debate, bill amendment) |
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filibuster |
a procedural tactic in the U.S. senate whereby a minority of legislators prevents a bill fro coming to a vote by holding the floor and talking until the majority gives in and the bill is withdrawn from consideration |
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delegate theory of representation |
elected to represent the views of the constituency, and therefore must reflect those views regardless |
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trustee theory of representation |
when the representative acts in what they believe is their constituents best interest, trying to educate and casting their best judgement |
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cabinet |
the heads of the 15 executive departments |
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details of the cuban missile crisis |
too much to list, see notes |
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M.A.D. |
any nuclear launch my obliterate the country that fired as well as the target; long range missiles will take 20 minutes, giving the target time to retaliate |
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Nuclear paradox |
hypothetical nuclear threats can lead to very real conflicts, so despite having them we're essentially unable to use them without leading to M.A.D. |
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IRBMs |
intermediate range ballistic missiles, 3,000-5,000 km, between medium range and intercontinental range |
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Nuclear triad |
land based missiles, submarine launched missiles, and missiles dropped from planes |
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commander in chief |
"the president shall be commander and chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states"
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chief diplomat |
"He shall have power, and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present concur" "he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers"
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honeymoon period |
period for a newly elected president when the congress, press, and public anticipate initiatives and are more likely to support them |
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executive office of the presidency |
the command center of the presidency; exact configuration is determined by the president, although some units carry over from previous terms including the White House Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and the National Security Council |
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office of management and budget |
consists of experts who formulate and administer the federal budget |
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characteristics of a bureaucracy |
system of organization and control that is based on hierarchical authority, job specialization, and formalized rules |
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Max Weber |
(on bureaucracy) 1. hierarchy 2. rules and procedures 3. work based on skills 4. impersonal 5. employment based on qualifications |
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Independent Agencies |
bureaucratic agencies that are similar to cabinet departments but usually have a much narrower area of responsibility; headed by a presidential appointee who is not a cabinet member |
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regulatory agencies |
administrative units that have responsibility for the monitoring and regulation of ongoing economic activities; ex: Federal Communication Commissions |
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governmental corporations |
Government bodies that are similar to private organizations in that they charge for their services, but different in that they receive federal funding to help with expenses; directors appointed by president with senate approval; ex: U.S. postal service |
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merit systems |
civil servants are hired by a competitive exam score (ex: post office) or be a trained specialist |
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accountability of federal agencies |
they are accountable to the president and Congress, as well as under pressure from interest groups and public opinion |
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agency point of view |
the perspective that comes from rising through civil service |
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whistleblowing |
the act of reporting instances of official mismanagement |
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congressional budget office |
provides Congress with estimates of government expenditures and revenues, which congress uses to determine fiscal policy
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discretionary spending |
optional part of the budget; is a minority of spending (30%) and includes mostly military, followed by education, medicine, veteran's benefits, etc |
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mandatory spending |
obligatory spending, mostly social security unemployment and labor (almost 50%), medicare and health (over 25%), followed by food, agriculture, veteran's benefits, transportation and other
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truman doctrine |
we'll intervene by sending food, weapons, etc to countries fighting communist insurgents, but not fight directly
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appellate jurisdiction |
authority to review cases that have already been heard in lower courts and that are appealed to the higher courts by the losing party |
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dissenting opinions |
when a justice on the losing side explains the reasons for disagreeing with the majority position |
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concurrent opinions |
when a justice disagrees with all or part of the reasoning of a decision, but votes in its favor anyway |
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judicial activism |
when judges actively interpret the constitution, statutes, and precedents in light of the fundamental principles of the constitution |
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judicial review |
when the courts review the law to be sure it's constitutional |
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jurisdiction (of a court) |
authority to hear cases of a particular type |
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original jurisdiction |
authority to be first court to hear a case |
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originalism |
constitution should be interpreted in the way it would have been interpreted when it was written |
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majority opinion |
when the majority of justices agree on the legal basis |
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writ of certiorari |
given when a request to a lower court for an issue submitted to a higher court has been granted, must be approved by four justices of that higher court |
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living constitution theory |
the framers used broad language and basic principles so the constitution would be an adaptable instrument |
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marshall plan |
1300 dollars in aid to Europe to aid in WWII reparations
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roosevelt corollary |
supports the munroe document and asserts the right to meddle in the western hemisphere too protect american interests
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monroe doctrine |
the countries of europe should't colonize any more in the americas (basically because america was territorial)
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containment |
the idea that the spread of a harmful regime could be stopped by force
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isolationism |
focusing on its own policies and avoiding entanglement |
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soft and hard power |
soft power is the use of diplomacy, economic sanctions, and foreign aid in contrast to hard power, which is the use of military
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