Government Test 2

Front 1

caucus (political)

Back 1

a normally closed meeting of a political legislative group to select candidates, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters

Front 2

expressed powers

Back 2

specific powers granted by the Constitution to Congress (Article 1, Section 8) and to the president (Article 2)

Front 3

delegate powers

Back 3

constitutional powers that are assigned to one government agency but that are exercised by another agency with the express permission of the first

Front 4

inherent powers

Back 4

powers claimed by a president that are not expressed in the Constitution, but are inferred from it

Front 5

commander in chief

Back 5

the role of the president as commander of the national military and the state national guard units (when called into service)

Front 6

War Powers Resolution

Back 6

a resolution of congress that the president can send troops into action abroad only by authorization of Congress, or if American troops are already under attack or serious threat

Front 7

executive agreement

Back 7

an agreement, made between the president and another country, that has the force of a treaty but does not require the Senate's "advice and consent"

Front 8

executive privilege

Back 8

the claim that confidential communications between a president and close advisers should not be revealed without the consent of the president

Front 9

veto

Back 9

the president's constitutional power to turn down acts of Congress. A presidential veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress

Front 10

pocket veto

Back 10

a presidential veto that is automatically triggered if the president does not act on a given piece of legislation passed during the final ten days of a legislative session

Front 11

legislative initiative

Back 11

the president's inherent power to bring a legislative agenda before Congress

Front 12

executive order

Back 12

a rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect and formal status of legislative

Front 13

cabinet

Back 13

the secretaries, or chief administrators, of the major departments of the federal government. Cabinet secretaries are appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate

Front 14

National Security Council (NSC)

Back 14

A presidential foreign-policy advisory council composed of the president; the vice president; the secretary of state; the secretary of defense and the other officials invited by the president

Front 15

White House Staff

Back 15

analysts and advisers to the president, often given the title "special assistant"

Front 16

Kitchen Cabinet

Back 16

an informal group of advisers to whom the president turns for counsel and guidance. Members of the official Cabinet may or may not also be members of the Kitchen Cabinet

Front 17

Executive Office of the President (EOP)

Back 17

the permanent agencies that perform defined management tasks for the president. Created in 1933, the EOP includes the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisers, the National Security Council, and other agencies

Front 18

mandate

Back 18

a claim by a victorious candidate that the electorate has given him or her special authority to carry out promises made during the campaign

Front 19

signing statements

Back 19

announcements made by the president when signing bills into law, often presenting the president's interpretation of the law

Front 20

bureaucracy

Back 20

the complex structure of offices, tasks, rules and principles of organizations that are employed by all large-scale institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel

Front 21

implementation

Back 21

the efforts of departments and agencies to translate law into specific bureaucratic rules and actions

Front 22

merit system

Back 22

a product of civil service reform, in which appointees to positions in public bureaucracies must objectively be deemed qualified for those positions

Front 23

department

Back 23

the largest subunit of the executive branch. the secretaries of the fifteen departments from the cabinet

Front 24

independent agency

Back 24

an agency that is not part of a cabinet department

Front 25

government corporation

Back 25

a government agency that performs a service normally provided by the private sector

Front 26

regulatory agencies

Back 26

departments, bureaus, or independent agencies whose primary mission is to impose limits, restrictions, or other obligations on the conduct of individuals companies in the private sector

Front 27

iron triangle

Back 27

the stable, cooperative relationship that often develops among a congressional committee, an administrative agency, and one or more supportive interest groups. Not all of these relationships are triangular, but the iron triangle is the most typical

Front 28

fiscal policy

Back 28

the governments use of taxing, monetary, and spending powers to manipulate the economy

Front 29

Federal Reserve System

Back 29

a system of twelve Federal Reserve Banks that facilitates exchanges of cash, checks, and credit; regulates member banks; and uses monetary policies to fight inflation and deflation

Front 30

revenue agencies

Back 30

agencies responsible for collecting taxes. Examples include the Internal Revenue Service for income taxes, the U.S. Customs Service for tariffs and other taxes on imported goods, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for collection of taxes on sales of those particular products

Front 31

deregulation

Back 31

a policy of reducing or eliminating regulatory restraints on the conduct of individuals or private institutions

Front 32

devolution

Back 32

a policy to remove a program from one level of government by delegating it or passing it down to a lower level of government, such as from the national government to the state and local government

Front 33

privatization

Back 33

removing all or part of a program from the public sector to the private sector

Front 34

executive privilege

Back 34

the claim that confidential communications between a president and close advisers should not be revealed without the consent of the president

Front 35

oversight

Back 35

the effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agenciesfac

Front 36

impeachment

Back 36

the formal charge by The House of Representatives that leads to a trial in the Senate and the possible removal of a state official

Front 37

appointment

Back 37

the power of the chief executive, whether the president of the United States or the governor of a state, to support persons to office

Front 38

patronage

Back 38

the resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and to confer grants, licenses, or special favors supporters

Front 39

senatorial courtesy

Back 39

the practice whereby the president, before formally nominating a person for a federal judgeship, seeks the indication that senators from the candidates own state support the nomination; in Texas, the practice whereby the governor seeks the indication that the senator from the candidate's home supports the nomination

Front 40

executive budget

Back 40

the state budget prepared and submitted by the governor to the legislature, which indicates the governor's spending priorities. The executive budget is overshadowed in terms of importance by the legislative budget

Front 41

legislative budget

Back 41

the state budget that is prepard and submitted by the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) and that is fully considered by the House and the Senate

Front 42

veto

Back 42

the governor's power to turn down legislation; can be overidden by a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate

Front 43

post-adjournment veto

Back 43

a veto of a bill that occurs after the legislature adjourns, thus preventing the legislature from overriding it

Front 44

line-item veto

Back 44

the power of the executive to veto specific provisions (lines) of an appropriation bill passed by the legislature

Front 45

special session

Back 45

a legislative session

Front 46

plural executive

Back 46

an executive branch in which power is fragmented because the election of statewide officeholders is independent of the election of the governor

Front 47

secretary of state

Back 47

state official, appointed by the governor, whose primary responsibility is administering elections

Front 48

lieutenant governor

Back 48

the second-highest elected official in the state and president of the state Senate

Front 49

attorney general

Back 49

elected state official who serves as the state's chief civil lawyer

Front 50

land commissioner

Back 50

elected state official who is the manager of most publicly owned lands

Front 51

agricultural commissioner

Back 51

elected state official who is primarily responsible for enforcing agricultural laws

Front 52

comptroller

Back 52

elected state official who directs the collection of taxes and other revenues

Front 53

bureaucracy

Back 53

the complex structure of offices, tasks, rules, and principles of organization that are employed by all large-scale institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel

Front 54

Sunset Advisory Commission (SAC)

Back 54

a commission created in 1975 for the purpose of reviewing the effectiveness of state agencies