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62 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Formal Requirements for membership of House & Senate
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House Senate
25 years old 30 years old 7 yeas of US citizen 9 years of US citizen Legal resident of state Legal resident of state Serve 2 year terms Serve 6 year terms 435 voting members (based on population) 100 voting members (2 per state) Initiates all revenue bills Offers advice/content on presidential appts Initiates impeachment Tries impeachment Turnover higher than senate Turnover moderate |
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Functions of Congress
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1.Representation- the process of bringing the people’s voices into gov’t.
2.Oversight- efforts by Congress, especially through committees to monitor agency rule making, enforcement and implementation of congressional policies. 3.Education- the process of informing and instructing the citizenry on the affairs of government. 4.Lawmaking- process of debating and initiating the rules that govern society. |
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Congressional oversight (4 ways Congress can use it)
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1. Congressional Hearings- where government officials, bureaucrats, and interest groups testify as to how a law or policy is being implemented (discuss and investigate the implementation of that law
2. Confirmation hearings- hearings on presidential appointees to oversee departments or governmental agencies 3. Investigations- highlight and get to the bottom of wrongdoings by agencies or government officials 4. Budgetary Appropriations- congress has a lot of oversight over what we do because congress funds a lot of government agencies |
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How do legislators educate?
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the process of informing and instructing the citizenry on the affairs of government. Committee hearings, Elections & Campaigns, Government Publications, Floor debates.
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Apportionment
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A process of allotting congressional seats to each state following the US census according to their proportion of the population (related term: reapportionment)
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Redistricting
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Redrawing of congressional district boundaries within each state based on the reapportionment from the census.
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Gerrymandering
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The drawing of congressional districts to produce a particular electoral outcome without regard to the shape of the district.
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Congressional Organization (Parties, Leadership, Committee System)
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Parties- majority and minority
Committees- standing, joint, conference, select (special) Leadership- House of Reps: Speaker of the house, majority & minority leaders, Repub & Demo whips. Senate: VP, President PRo Temp, Senate Majority leaders, minority leaders, repub whips, dem whips |
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Caucuses/Conferences
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A formal gathering of all party members. Nominating or electing party officers, Reviewing committee assignments, Discussing party policy, Imposing party discipline, Setting party themes and Coordinating media efforts.
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Congress is organized based on?
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parties, leadership, and committee system
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House Organizational Structure (Speaker of the House, Majority & Minority Leaders, Repub & Demo Whips)
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• House of Reps
o Speaker of the House- Only officer of the H of R specifically mentioned in the constitution, Entire h of r elects the speaker, Oversees house business, Speaker is liaison with the president. Majority Party Leader, Minority Party Leader, Whips. |
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Senate Organizational Structure (VP, President Pro Temp, Senate Majority Leader, Minority Leader and Repub & Demo Whips)
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Senate- Presiding officer (VP) (technically), President Pro Tempore (symbolic), Majority party leader (true leader of senate), Minority party leader, whips
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The Committee System (Conference Committee, House Rules Committee)
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Temporary committees set up to address the different version of bills that come out of the house and senate, Goal is to work through the 2 different versions of bill.
The committee that determines how and when debate on a bill will take place. |
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Law-Making (5 step process- know the steps and what happens in each step)
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1. Agenda Setting- the slate of proposals & issues that reps think is worthwhile to consider & act on. 3 ways to get it on the agenda: New presidents, Well-publicized event, Policy entrepreneurs (representatives with active interest in a specific area)
2. Proposing/introducing legislation- Any member of congress can do this but president can’t (he has to have a sponsor), Most commonly drafted by attorneys and interest groups 3. Committee/subcommittee review-Agency reviews: Usually sent to many committees for multiple referrals, Speaker will assign committees depending on who will be more/less supportive of the legislation. Hearings: Finance Committee, Subcommittee HELP (health education labor pensions), Chairperson will put it on calendar to be discussed. Mark-up: Basically revising adding sections etc. Report: Submit the bills to the rules committee if it works. 4. House & Senate Approval- Same version in both must be approved, if not it is sent to: 5. Conference Committee Review- More bargaining than compromising, Only sent here if its not in the same language, Made of members from each chamber. 6. Executive Approval- Sign it, becomes law. Veto (congress can use override), Don’t sign it: 10 days & Congress is in session- a pocket veto, 10 days & congress is adjourned- the bill dies |
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Agenda Setting (how are items placed on the agenda)
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(the slate of proposals and issues that representatives think it worthwhile to consider and act on). 3 ways to get on the agenda: New Presidents, Well-publicized event, Policy entrepreneurs (representatives with an active interest)
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Presidential Powers defined by Constitution (Executive, Legislative, Judicial powers)
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1. Executive Powers- chief administrator, commander-in-chief: military authority , chief foreign policy maker: allows him or her to negotiate treaties and meet with foreign powers. One of the areas where see presidential power has expanded a bit. Executive Agreements.
2. Legislative Powers- State of the Union, Convene Congress, Presidential Veto, Pocket Veto, Signing statements, Executive Orders. 3. Judicial Powers- appoint judges: especially supreme court justices, long term because judges are appointed for life (or till retirement). He caters to his belief system, its extremely power tool. Appoint solicitor general- the individual responsible for arguing cases for or against the supreme court. He has won over 2/3 of the time. A very powerful appointment. Pardoning power: allows power to exempt a person for a crime, not very controversial but has raised questions. We still have a little bit of congressional oversight when it comes to presidential power. |
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Executive Agreement
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Legal contracts with foreign countries that require only a presidential signature.
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Veto
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Presidential: power giving presidents the capacity to prevent bills passed by congress from becoming law.
Pocket: presidential veto after congressional adjournment, executed merely by not signing a bill |
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Signing Statement
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A public statement written by the president and attached to a particular bill to outline the president’s interpretation of the legislation
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Executive Orders
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An official means by which the president can instruct federal agencies on how to execute the laws passed by congress.
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Divided Government
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Political rule split between two parties: one controlling the White House and the other controlling one or both houses of Congress
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Presidential Uses of Informal Powers (the Power to Persuade)
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As a crisis manager, budget settler, world leader, conflict resolver, legislative leader, coalition builder, party leader, bargainer & persuader, moral builder, Personal recruiter, priority settler
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Managing the Presidency- EOP
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A collection of 9 organizations that help the president with policy and political objectives.
Is as an intermediate layer between the president’s core staff (in the White House) and the rest of the federal bureaucracy in the cabinet departments.; National security council. OMB. Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) |
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How does the President choose his presidential appointments?
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Based on organized interests of the constituents, Members that have independent stature & reputation, Increase diversity- seeking ethnic & gender balance, People who are ideologically similar in policy area.
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OMB
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Office of Management and Budget. Organization within the EOP that oversees the budgets of departments and agencies. Put together presidents budgets and can add different organizations .
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Bureaucracy
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An organization characterized by hierarchical structure, worker specialization, explicit rules, and advancement by merit. The 1,000’s of federal gov’t agencies and intuitions that implement and administer federal laws and programs. In bureaucracies, orders are given at the top, by those with responsibility for the success of the organization, and followed by those on the bottom.
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Weber's Characteristics of Bureaucracy
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More trade which meant More legal/economic relationships More rules to provide order to relationships More people to administer the rules Thus, Complex societies requires bureaucracies .
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Pendleton Act
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1833 civil service reform that required the hiring and promoting of civil servants to be based on merit, not patronage. Reform measure that established the principle of federal employment on the basis of open, competitive exams and created the Civil Service Commission.
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Role/Function of the Bureaucracy
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1. Administration- The most common function of bureaucracies, Involves execution or enforcement of laws and every once and awhile the judiciary, They can put on publicity campaigns to let people know they have these service available to everyone
2. Service Provision- Created to serve the general public, Sometimes specific groups within public, Either to all citizens or groups that qualify for a particular service- veterans 3. Regulation- Intended to safe guard public’s welfare 4. Licensing- Closely related to regulation, enables gov’t to impose minimum standards and qualifications on some activity 5. Information Gathering- Collect info for 2 purposes; to determine whether or not a law has been violated and to help us make decisions 6. Policy Making- very controversial because they aren’t voted in. Adjudication: All major US departments maintain administrative court, these courts are resided over administrative law judges (ALJ). They make lots of decisions every year over this. National level security administration. Discretionary implementation, Rule making, Advisory. |
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Four Ways Bureaucrats make policy
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1. Adjudication
2. Discretionary Implementation 3. Rule making 4. Advisory |
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Bureaucratic Culture
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The accepted values and procedures of an organization.
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Iron Triangles
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The relatively stable relationships and patterns of interaction that occur among agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees. The phenomenon of a clientele group, congressional committee, and bureaucratic agency cooperating to make mutually beneficial policy.
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Issue Networks
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Complex systems of relationships, between groups that influence policy, including elected leaders, interest groups, specialists, consultants, and research institutes.
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Functions of Law
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1. provide security
2. provide predictability 3. conflict resolution 4. reflect & enforce conformity to society’s values 5. distribution & allocation of goods |
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Marbury v. Madison/Judicial Review
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Power of the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of laws.
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Original Jurisdiction
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The authority of a court to hear a case first
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Appellate Jurisdiction
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the authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts
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Senatorial Courtesy
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tradition of granting senior senators of the president's party considerable power over federal judicial appointments in their home states
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Amicus Curiae Briefs
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"friend of the court" documents filled by interested parties to encourage the court to grant or deny certiorari or to urge it to decide a case in a particular way
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Dissenting Opinion
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Documents written by justices expressing disagreement with the majority ruling
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Concurring Opinion
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Documents written by justices expressing agreement with the majority ruling but describing different or additional reasons for the ruling
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Judicial Activism
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View that the courts should be lawmaking, policymaking bodies
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Judicial Restraint
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View that the courts should reject any active lawmaking functions and stick to judicial interpretations of the past
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Strict Constructionism
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A judicial approach holding that the Constitution should be read literally, with the framer's intentions uppermost in mind
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Judicial Interpretivism
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A judicial approach holding that the Constitution is a living document and that judges should interpret it according to changing times and values
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Rule of Four
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The unwritten requirement that four Supreme Court justices must agree to grant a case certiorari in order for the case to be heard
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Delegate
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Sees himself elected to represent interest of the district. Work for peoples preferences.
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Trustee
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Sees himself as elected to pursue the best interest of the nation even if it conflicts the constituency. You don’t want to announce you are one.
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Politico
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A mix of the two. Will act when there is a clear voice coming from the people. Have to make their own decisions and look to other things (cues). They vote party lines, interest groups, lobby groups.
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Policy Entrepreneurship
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Practice of legislature becoming experts and taking leadership roles in specific policy areas
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Liberalist Theory
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president has the powers spelled out in the constitution or he can’t do it
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Stewardship Theory
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rules can not follow the constitution exactly “about as much power as he is capable of handling”
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Prerogative theory
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they feel like they have a greater purpose
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Managing the Presidency- The Cabinet
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A presidential advisory group selected by the president, made up of the vice president, the heads of the federal executie departments, and other high officials to whom the president elects to give cabinet status.
• Department of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, the Interior, Justice, Labor, State, Energy, Health & Human services, Homeland Security, Housing, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans. Because they are so diverse the rang of topics so wide they really can’t work together, so the president is relying on them for advice. Presidents have slowly stopped using the cabinet, he may not even know the people very well, he may grant favors only because he knows the senate will not approve of them. He tries to choose less controversial candidates. |
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Managing the Presidency- White House Staff
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A group of people whom the President relies on to organize schedules and plot political, legislative, and international strategies. Commonly called the White House Aids. Closest layer of gov’t to the President. Like a little entourage for the President. President doesn’t have time to thoroughly study every issue. They do not have to be confirmed by the senate. May be more passionate or energetic about the Presidents ideas, will give him advice and be bipartisan
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Type of law- Criminal
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Laws prohibiting behavior the gov't has determined to be harmful to society; violation of a criminal law is a called a crime
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Type of law- civil
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Laws regulating interactions b/w individuals; violations of a civil law is called a tort
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Type of law- Constitutional
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law stated in the constitution or in the body of judicial decisions about the meaning of the constitution handed down in the courts
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Type of law- administration
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law established by the bureaucracy, on behalf of congress
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Common law
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the law created by courts of the cases they decide
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stare decisis
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a Latin phrase that means “let the decision stand” and in deciding cases this means that judges must abide by the legal precedent
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Precedent
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A previous decision or ruling that, in common law tradition, is binding on subsequent decisions
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