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77 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Congress
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-Congress is the most important representative institution in american government. -Constituents hold their representatives to account through elections. -The legislative process is driven by numerous political forces; political parties, committees, staffs, caucuses, rules of lawmaking and the president. -Congress also makes the law. Before a bill can become a law, it must pass through legislative process, a complex set of procedures. |
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Constituency |
The district making up the area from which an official is elected. |
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Delegate |
A representative who votes according to the preferences of his or her constituency. |
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Trustees |
A representative who votes based on what he or she thinks is best for his or her constituency. |
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Agency representation |
The type of representation according to which representatives are held accountable to their constituents if they fail to represent them properly. That is, constituents have the power to hire and fire their representatives. |
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Individual Constituents |
-Solve problems with agencies.
-Provide Jobs -Sponsor private bills. - Sponsor appointments to service academies. -Answer complaints. -Provide information. |
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Organized interests |
-Introduce legislation. -Intervene with regulatory agencies. -Obtain federal grants and agencies. -Help with importing or exporting -Help in securing favorable tax status. -Make promotional speeches and symbolic gestures. |
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District as a whole |
-Obtain federal projects. -Obtain grants and contracts that promote employment. -Support policies that enhance economic prosperity, safety, culture resources, and so on. -Participate in state and regional caucuses. |
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Bicameral legislature |
A legislative assembly composed of two chambers, or houses. |
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Money bill |
A bill concerned solely with taxation or government spending. |
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Minimum age of member in house and senate. |
House: 25 years Senate: 30 Years |
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U.S. Citizenship between House and Senate |
House: At least 7 years Senate: At least 9 years |
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Length of term between House and Senate |
House: 2 years Senate: 6 years |
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Number per state between House and Senate |
House: Depends on population.. 1 per 30,000 in 189; 1 per 700,000 today. Senate: 2 per state |
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Constituency between house and Senate |
House: Tends to be local Senate: Both local and national |
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Incumbency |
Holding the political office for which one is running |
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Casework |
An effort by members of Congress to gain the trust and support of constituents by providing personal services. One important type of casework comprises helping constituents obtain favorable treatment from the federal bureaucracy. |
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Pork-barrel legislation |
Th appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that often are not needed but are created so that local representatives can carry their home district in the next election. |
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Patronage |
The resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and to confer grants, licenses, or special favors to supporters. |
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Gerrymandering |
The apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one political party. |
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Party caucus |
A nominally closed meeting of a political or legislative group to select candidates or leaders, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters. |
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Speaker of the House |
The chief presiding officer of the House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected at the beginning of every congress on a straight party vote. He or she is the most important party and House leader. |
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Majority Leader |
The elected leader of the party holding a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives or in the Senate. In the house the majority leader is subordinate in the party hierarchy to the speaker. |
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Minority Leader |
The elected leader of the party holding less than a majority of the seats in the House or Senate. |
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Standing committee |
A permanent legislative committee that considers legislation within the designated subject area; the basic unit of deliberation in the House and the Senate. |
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Seniority |
The priority status ranking given to an individual on the basis of length of continuous service on a congressional committee. |
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Closed Rule |
The provision by the House Rules Committee that prohibits the introduction of amendments during debate. |
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Open Rule |
The provision by the House Rules Committee that permits floor debate and the addition of amendments to a bill. |
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Filibuster |
A tactic used by members of the Senate to prevent action on legislation they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down. Once given the floor, senators have unlimited time to speak, and it requires a cloture vote of three-fifths of the Senate to end a filibuster. |
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Cloture |
A rule allowing a super majority of the members of a legislative body to sat a time limit on debate over a given bill. |
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Conference committee |
A joint committee created to work out a compromise on House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation. |
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Veto |
The president's constitutional power to turn down acts of Congress within 10 days of their passage while Congress is in session. A presidential veto may be overridden by two-thirds vote of each house of Congress. |
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Pocket veto |
A veto that is effected when congress adjourns during the time a president has to approve a bill and the president takes no action on it. |
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Party vote |
A roll call vote in the House or Senate in which at least 50 percent of the members of one party take a particular position and are opposed by at least 50 percent of the members of the other party. Party votes are less common today than they were in the nineteenth century. |
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Roll-Call Vote |
Votes in which each legislator's yes or no vote is recorded. |
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Whip system |
A communications network in each house of Congress. Whips poll the membership to learn their intentions on specific legislative issues and assist the majority and minority leaders in various tasks. |
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Logrolling |
A legislative practice wherein reciprocal agreements are made between legislators, usually in voting for or against a bill. In contrast to bargaining, logrolling unites parties that have nothing in common but their desire to exchange support. |
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Committee assignments |
By giving favorable committee assignments to members, party leaders create a sense of debt. |
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Access to the floor |
Ranking committee members in the Senate and the Speaker of the House control the allocation of floor time, so House and Senate members want to stay on good terms with these party leaders so that their bills get time on the floor. |
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Whip System |
The system allows party leaders to keep track of how many vote they have for a given piece of legislation; if the vote is close, they can try to influence members to switch sides. |
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Log rolling |
Members who have nothing in common agree to support one another legislation because each needs the vote. |
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Presidency |
The president's legislative proposals are often the most important part of Congress's agenda. Party leaders use the president's support to rally members. |
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Oversight |
The effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies. |
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Executive agreements |
An agreement between the president and another country that has the force of a treaty but does not require the Senates "advice and consent" |
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Impeachment |
The charging of a governmental official with "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. |
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Distributive tendency |
The tendency of congress to spread the benefits of a policy over a wide range of members districts. |
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Presidency |
-The constitution endows the president with a limited number of expressed powers. Other presidential powers are delegated by Congress or claimed by presidents without specific statutory authority. -Since the 1930s, the presidency has been the dominant branch of American government. -Contemporary presidents have also increased the power of the executive branch through "administrative strategies" that often allow them to achieve policy goals without congressional approval. |
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Expressed powers |
The powers enumerated in the Constitution that are granted to the federal government. |
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Delegated powers |
Constitutional powers assigned to one governmental agency but exercised by another agency with the express permission of the first. |
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Inherent powers |
Powers claimed by a president that are not expressed in the Constitution but are inferred from it. |
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Commander in chief |
The power of the president as commander of the national military and the state national guard units. |
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Executive agreement |
An agreement between the president and another country that has the force of a treaty but does not require the Senate's "advice and consent" |
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Executive privilege |
The claim that confidential communications between a president and the president's close advisers should not be revealed without the consent of the president. |
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Veto power |
The ability to defeat something even if it has made it on the the agenda of an institution. |
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Pocket veto |
A veto that is effected when Congress adjourns during the time a president has to approve a bill and the president takes no action on it. |
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Line-item veto |
The power of the executive veto specific provisions (lines) of a bill passed by the legislature. |
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War Powers Resolution |
A resolution of Congress declaring that the president can send troops into action abroad only by authorization of Congress or if U.S. troops are already under attack or seriously threatened. |
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Legislative Initiative |
The president's inherent power to bring a legislative agenda before congress. |
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Executive orders |
A rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect and formal status of legislation. |
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Cabinet |
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. |
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National Security Council |
A presidential foreign policy advisory council comprising the president, the vice president, the secretaries of state, defense, and the treasury, the attorney general, and other officials invited by the president. |
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White House Staff Includes |
-Chief of staff -Press secretary -Special Assistants -Senior Advisers |
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Independent Agencies and government corporations |
-Central Intelligence Agency -Environmental Protection Agency -Federal Labor Relations Authority -General Services Administration |
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Regulatory Review |
The Office of Management and Budget function of reviewing all agency regulations and other rule making before they become official policy. |
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Signing Statement |
An announcement made by the president when a bill is signed into law. |
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Political Parties |
-The United States has a two-party system, in which two major parties, the Democrats and Republicans, compete for most offices. -Two of the most important functions of American political parties are facilitating nominations and elections. -Parties also organize the institutions of national government. The legislative and executive branches are organized by the parties, with the party that won a majority of seats and controlling most of the key positions and levers of power. -Although American politics has been characterized by a two party system, this system has evolved over time and has been influenced at times by third parties. |
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Political Parties |
An organized group that attempts to influence the government by electing its members to important government offices. |
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Nomination |
The process by which political parties select their candidate for election to public office. |
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Closed primary |
A primary election in which only those voters who registered with the party a specified period before the primary election day can participate. |
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Open primary |
A primary election in which voters can choose on the primary election day which party's primary to vote in. |
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Majority Party |
The party that holds the majority of legislative seats in either the House or the Senate |
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Party identification |
An individuals attachment to a particular political party, which might be based on issues, ideology, past experience, or upbringing. |
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Party activists |
A partisan who contributes time, energy, and effort to support a party and its candidates. |
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Caucus |
A normally closed meeting of a political or legislative group to select candidates, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters. |
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Parties in government |
-Parties organize in support of and in opposition to government actions and policies. -Parties select leaders in the House and Senate and make committee assignments. - Politicians who are in the same party often support one another's legislation. |
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Parties in the Electorate |
-Many voters identify with a political party that reflects their views and interests. Once formed, this identification usually persists. -Voters use parties as a "shortcut" to decide whom to vote for in elections. -Some people develop strong attachments to a party and become party activists, organizing local campaign efforts on behalf of a party's candidates. |
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Parties as Institutions |
-Parties compromise networks of politicians, activists, interest groups, donors, consultants, and voters. -Parties recruit candidates to run for office and organize caucuses, primary elections, and conventions to select one candidate to compete against the other party candidate. -Parties raise money and perform other activities on behalf of their members in Congress and in state legislatures. |
