AP Government Unit 2 Flashcards

10523976162	Institutions of government	The executive, legislature, judiciary, and bureaucracy	0
10523976174	Bicameral	A legislature consisting of two parts, or houses	1
10523976175	Constituency	the residents in the area from which an official is elected	2
10523976176	coalition building	a means of expanding an interest group's influence that involves working with other groups	3
10523976177	revenue	income	4
10523976178	Congressional committee	committee deals w/ specific topic, work of congress goes through committees	5
10523976179	Standing committee	A permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a policy area	6
10523976180	Select committee	Groups of appointed for a limited purpose and limited duration	7
10523976181	Conference committee	Special joint committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate	8
10523976182	Joint committee	Committee made up of members of both house of Congress-housekeeping issues decided	9
10523976183	Speaker of the house	The presiding officer of the House of Representatives	10
10523976184	President of the Senate	Vice President	11
10523976185	President pro tempore	Serves as president of the Senate in the absence of the VP; chosen by the majority party	12
10523976186	Majority leader	The elected leader of the party with the most seat in the House of Representatives/Senate	13
10523976187	Minority leader	the legislative leader selected by the minority party as spokesperson for the opposition.	14
10523976188	Majority whip	the majority leader's assistant	15
10523976189	Minority whip	the minority leader's assistant	16
10523976190	Committee chairperson	Leader of committee	17
10523976191	Filibuster	A lengthy speech designed to delay or kill the vote on a bill; used only in the Senate	18
10523976192	Cloture	A Senate procedure through which a supermajority of 60 senators can vote to limit the amount of time spent debating a bill and cut off a filibuster.	19
10523976193	Quorum	number of members necessary to conduct a meeting	20
10523976194	Hold	a political tactic meant to slow down the legislative process in the Senate.	21
10523976195	Unanimous consent	Complete agreement	22
10523976196	Rules committee	Responsible for scheduling and managing the flow of legislation on the floor to make the process more efficient and manageable. It can also make it easier or more difficult for a bill to pass depending on the rules they create.	23
10523976197	Committee of the Whole	A committee of the House on which all representatives serve in order to consider the details of a proposal.	24
10523976198	Discharge petition	A petition signed by members of the House of Representatives to bring a bill out of committee and onto the floor for a vote.	25
10523976199	Treaty ratification	The presidential has the power, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties provided 2/3 of the senators present, concur	26
10523976200	Discretionary spending	Federal spending on programs that are controlled through the regular budget process	27
10523976201	mandatory spending	Federal spending required by law that continues without the need for annual approvals by Congress.	28
10523976202	Entitlements	Entitlement programs are government-sponsored programs providing required benefits to those meeting eligibility requirements.	29
10523976203	Social Security	any government system that provides monetary assistance to people with an inadequate or no income.	30
10523976204	Medicare	A federal program of health insurance for persons 65 years of age and older	31
10523976205	Medicaid	A health care payment program sponsored by federal & state governments	32
10523976206	Budget deficit	a financial situation that occurs when a government spends more than it takes in.	33
10523976207	Pork barrel legislation	The use of federal funding to finance localized projects, typically bringing money into a representative's district in order to please constituents and boost the representative's chances of winning reelection.	34
10523976208	Earmarks	Federal funds appropriated by Congress for use on local projects	35
10523976209	Riders	And additional provision added to a bill or other measure under the consideration by the legislature, having little connectivity with the subject of the matter of the bill.	36
10523976210	Omnibus bill	One very large bill that encompasses many separate bills.	37
10523976211	Logrolling	An arrangement in which two or more members of Congress agree in advance to support each other's bills	38
10523976212	Franking privilege	Benefit allowing members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free	39
10523976213	Partisanship	Strong allegiance to one's own political party often leading to unwillingness to compromise with members of the opposing party	40
10523976329	White House Staff	The analysts and advisers to the president, often given the title "special assistant"	41
10523976214	divided government	When one party controls one or more houses in the legislative branch while the other party controls the executive branch.	42
10523976163	Ideological division		43
10523976215	Gridlock	When the government is unable to reach compromises or make policy decisions.	44
10523976216	Gerrymandering	The act of changing the boundaries of an electoral district to favor one party over another.	45
10523976164	Packing	drawing the lines so they include as many of the opposing party's voters as possible	46
10523976165	Cracking	spreading voters of one type over many districts where they will comprise minorities that are unable to influence elections	47
10523976217	Reapportionment	the process of reassigning representation based on population, after every census	48
10523976218	Census	A periodic and official count of a country's population.	49
10523976219	Redistricting	The process of adjusting electoral districts in the United States.	50
10523976220	safe seat	an office that is extremely likely to be won by a particular candidate or political party	51
10523976221	marginal seat	a parliamentary seat held by a very small majority of votes	52
10523976222	one person, one vote	a concept holding that each person's vote should be counted equally	53
10523976223	racial gerrymandering	drawing of legislative boundaries to give electoral advantages to a particular racial group	54
10523976224	Lame Duck	An elected official who continues to hold political office during the period between the election and the inauguration of their successor.	55
10523976225	Trustee Role	A member of Congress who takes into account the views of their constituents and use their own judgment to decide how to vote.	56
10523976226	Delegate Role	A member of Congress who always follows their constituents' voting preferences.	57
10523976227	partisan role	devoted to or biased in support of a party, group, or cause	58
10523976228	Politico Role	A member of Congress who acts as a delegate on issues that their constituents care about, and as a trustee on issues that their constituents don't care about.	59
10523976166	Policy agenda	The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time.	60
10523976167	Formal presidential powers	Commander-in-chief of armed forces; pardon power (except for impeachment); treaty power; appointment power; veto power	61
10523976168	Informal Presidential Powers	The power to go public, power of persuasion, make executive agreements, issue executive orders, issue signing statements, create & use bureaucracy, personality and leadership, and make legislative proposals.	62
10523976169	Veto	Chief executive's power to reject a bill passed by a legislature	63
10523976170	Pocket veto	president's power to kill a bill, if Congress is not in session, by not signing it for 10 days	64
10523976229	Congressional Override	The power of Congress to pass legislation over a president's veto	65
10523976230	Commander in Chief	term for the president as commander of the nation's armed forces	66
10523976231	executive agreement	an agreement between the president and the leader of another country	67
10523976232	executive order	A rule issued by the president that has the force of law	68
10523976233	executive privilege	the power that allows a president to refuse to release information to Congress or a court	69
10523976234	signing statements	A released letter explaining how the president's administration plans to interpret the law	70
10523976235	The Cabinet	the leaders of the executive departments, who also act as advisers to the president	71
10523976236	Ambassadors	Highest-ranking officials representing a government in a foreign country.	72
10523976171	Chief of staff	the person who oversees the operations of all White House staff and controls access to the president	73
10523976237	press secretary	one of the president's top assistants who is in charge of media relations	74
10523976172	advice and consent power	The power of the Senate to consult and approve the presidents treaties and appointments.	75
10523976238	Good behavior clause	Judges have standard of behavior; can't be impeached for their court decisions	76
10523976239	Lame duck period	A period of time between the election and the oath of office	77
10523976240	State of the Union Address	The president's annual statement to Congress and the nation.	78
10523976241	honeymoon period	The first 100 days of a President's first term when his/her popularity is at its highest point.	79
10523976242	Bully Pulpit	a platform used to publicize and seek support for important issues	80
10523976243	Judicial Review	Allows the court to determine the constitutionality of laws	81
10523976244	precedent	(civil law) a law established by following earlier judicial decisions	82
10523976245	stare decisis	Let the decision stand; decisions are based on precedents from previous cases	83
10523976246	judicial activism	an effort by judges to take an active role in policymaking by overturning laws relatively often	84
10523976247	judicial restraint	a theory of judicial interpretation that encourages judges to limit the exercise of their own power	85
10523976248	strict constructionism	Constitution is interpreted in a way that limits the powers of the federal government	86
10523976249	loose constructionism	broad interpretation of the Constitution	87
10523976250	Jurisdiction	the official power to make legal decisions and judgments.	88
10523976251	original jurisdiction	the power of a court to hear a case first, before any other court	89
10523976252	appellate jurisdiction	Authority of court to review a decision of a lower court or administrative agency.	90
10523976253	concurrent jurisdiction	authority for both state and federal courts to hear and decide cases	91
10523976254	federal bureaucracy	the collective agencies and employees of the executive branch	92
10523976255	Executive Departments	often called the cabinet departments, they are the traditional units of federal administration	93
10523976256	Department of State	Cabinet-level agency in charge of foreign policy & international affairs.	94
10523976257	Department of treasury	collects federal taxes through IRS, prints money and stamps, makes coins, deals w/nation's finances	95
10523976258	Department of Defense	Manages the armed forces	96
10523976259	Department of Justice	responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice,	97
10523976260	Department of Homeland Security	Cabinet department created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to coordinate domestic security efforts	98
10523976173	Department of Transportation	Manages the nations highways, railroads, airlines, and sea traffic	99
10523976261	Department of Veterans Affairs	Directs services for veterans	100
10523976330	Department of Education	Provides advice and funding for schools	101
10523976361	Agencies	An organization, company, or bureau that provides some service for another	102
10523976331	Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)	Created after the Russian Revolution to prevent radicals from taking over. Headed by J Edgar Hoover.	103
10523976332	Environmental Protection Agency	An agency created in 1970 to administer all environmental legislation.	104
10523976362	Commissions	agencies responsible for some sector of the economy, making/enforcing rules to protect the public interest.	105
10523976333	Federal Election Commission	a six-member bipartisan agency that enforces and administers campaign finance laws	106
10523976334	Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)	monitors the stock market and enforces laws regulating the sale of stocks and bonds	107
10523976335	government corporation	a business owned and operated by the federal government	108
10523976336	AMTRAK	Government Corporation Federally owned passenger rail service. National Railroad.	109
10523976363	U.S postal service	an independent federal agency that provides mail processing and delivery service for individuals and businesses in the United States (second for the most federal employees)	110
10523976337	regulations	The formal instructions that government issues for implementing laws.	111
10523976338	Iron Triangles	Congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups that form mutually-beneficial relationships are known as iron triangles.	112
10523976339	Issue networks	A loose grouping of people and organizations who seek to influence policy formation.	113
10523976340	Patronage	the power to control appointments to office or the right to privileges.	114
10523976341	Spoils System	A system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends.	115
10523976342	political machine	a group that controls the activities of a political party	116
10523976343	civil service system	practice of government employment based on competitive examinations and merit	117
10523976344	merit system	a system of employment based on qualifications, test scores, and ability, rather than party loyalty	118
10523976345	Office of Personnel Management (OPM)	Agency that administers civil service laws, rules, and regulations.	119
10523976346	discretionary authority	The ability of executive agencies to make decisions about how to enforce laws and implement policy	120
10523976347	rule making	the administrative process that results in the issuance of regulations by government agencies	121
10523976348	red tape	complex bureaucratic rules and procedures that must be followed to get something done	122
10523976364	Bureaucratic implementation	The actions taken by the bureaucracy in service of its mission of executing the laws of the United States.	123
10523976349	NASA	The federal agency that is responsible for aerospace research, aeronautics, and the civilian space program. (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)	124
10523976365	national security council	a committee in the executive branch of government that advises the president on foreign and military and national security	125
10523976350	Office of Management and Budget (OMB)	government office that manages the federal budget	126
10523976351	Congressional Budget Office	government agency that provides economic data to Congress	127
10523976352	White House Office	Presidential staff who oversee the policy interests of the president	128
10523976353	Congressional Oversight	Congress can review and supervise federal agencies by holding committee hearings and hearing testimony from members of those executive agencies.	129
10523976354	committee hearings	sessions where a committee listens to the testimonies of people who are interested in the bill	130
10523976355	Power of the Purse	when Congress uses its power over the budget to oversee federal agencies and their policy implementation	131
10523976356	Congressional appropriation	any money designated by Congress for a specific purpose by a state or federal legislature and provides the legal authority needed to spend or obligate the U.S. Treasury	132
10523976366	Congressional authorization	The power of Congress to provide the president with the right to carry out legislated policies.	133
10523976367	compliance monitoring	Activities undertaken to establish whether a process or procedure is carried out in conformance with relevant external requirements, whether set through legislation, regulations, or directions	134
10523976357	Imperial Presidency	President who acts like a monarch - takes and uses too much power	135
10693027837	Bureaucratic Rulemaking	A guideline issued by the federal bureaucracy, which provide specific details about how a policy will be implemented	136
10757852450	Baker v. Carr	Establishing both the "one-person, one-vote" principle - that districts should be proportionately represented - and that the Court had jurisdiction to review state redistricting issues.	137
10757857977	Shaw v. Reno	Established that although legislative redistricting must be conscious of race and comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it cannot exceed what is reasonably necessary to avoid racial imbalances.	138
10790039672	Marbury v. Madison (1803)	established the principle of judicial review, giving the Supreme Court the power to strike down acts of the legislative or executive branch that violate the Constitution.	139
10790151052	Federalist No. 78	Argued that the judicial branch should have the power to declare acts of Congress "void" to preserve the limited Constitution.	140
10824836958	bureaucratic rulemaking.	A guideline issued by the federal bureaucracy, which provide specific details about how a policy will be implemented	141