AP US Gov. The Legislative Branch

Terms in this set (68)

Establishes the election of US Senators by popular election, instead of by state legislatures (previous)

Established the rights of federal courts to review redistricting issues and examine their justiciability

meaning "two houses"

Only formal procedure provided by the Senate for ending a filibuster. Allows the Senate to limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 hours, but only by a 3/5 vote.

concurrent resolution

Resolution adopted by both houses of the legislature that does not require the executive signing off.

conference committee

Committee set up to resolve disagreements on a particular bill between the House and the Senate.

discharge petition

A way to bring a bill out of committee and onto the floor for debate

Prolonged speech that is meant to delay voting on a bill or issue. Only applies in the Senate

franking privilege

Legislative privilege/incumbent advantage of receiving free mail

Manipulate the boundaries of a constituency to benefit one or another political party

joint committees

A committee made up of members on both sides of a bicameral legislature

joint resolution

Legislative measure that requires approval by the House and the Senate and is presented to the president for his approval or disapproval

legislative veto

Veto exercised by nullifying or reversing a decision of the executive branch (declared unconstitutional)

Exchanging favors for votes

majority and minority leaders

Drawing the boundaries of legislative districts so they are

majority-minority districts

An electoral district in which the majority of voters are of a minority group

malapportionment

Malapportionment is the creation of electoral districts with divergent ratios of voters to representatives. For example, if one single-member district has 10,000 voters and another has 100,000 voters, voters in the former district have ten times the influence, per person, over the governing body.

marginal districts

Political districts in which candidates to the House win by a very slim margin (usually with less than 55% of the vote)

"one man, one vote"

The concept that one man's vote should have the same worth as another's.

Official in a political party whose primary job is to ensure that other party members stay in line with the legislative agenda

pork-barrel legislation

Appropriation of gov't spending for a localized project secured solely or primarily to bring money to a congressman's district

President Pro Tempore

Presides over the Senate in the Vice President's absence

A quorum call is a way of counting the members of a legislative body to see who is present and to determine if there are enough members present for the session to begin

reapportionment

Redistribution of representation in a legislative body

Dividing or organizing an area into new political differences.

Unrelated amendments added to a bill in the hopes that it will pass

Only formal procedure for breaking a filibuster

rules committee

Committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for setting the rules under which bills come to the floor

A district where a representative wins handily, usually with 55% or more of the vote.

select committees

Congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose, such as the Watergate hearings

Significant ruling in the areas of redistricting and racial gerrymandering

(simple) resolution

Resolutions passed by only one house that do not have the force of law

Speaker of the House

The Speaker is chosen by the party in the majority, and has both informal and formal powers in the House. Is also 2nd in line to the VP to succeed if the presidency becomes vacant.

standing committees

Handle bills in different policy areas, are permanent committees in the House and Senate.

Meaning "one house"

Wesberry V. Sanders

Ordered House districts to be near as equal in population representation as possible.

Provides a procedure for electing the President and Vice President

Established a two-term limit for the presidency

Establishes the line of succession for the presidency and procedures should the presidency be vacated

A public office providing it's occupant an outstanding opportunity to speak out on an issue

Secretaries or chief admins of the major departments of the federal gov't

Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act (1974)

Modified the role of Congress in the federal budgetary process, created standing budget committees

Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)

The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is an agency within the Executive Office of the President that advises the President of the United States on economic policy.

direct democracy

Form of democracy in which people decide on voting matters directly, not through legislators

Inability to act because rival parties control separate parts of the gov't (Democratic pres. and Republican Congress)

electoral college

The electoral college is composed of 538 members. Representation is equal to the number of representatives (HR) for each state, and they decide the presidency.

executive agencies

An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry-out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government

executive agreements

An international agreement made by the executive branch of the gov't without ratification by the Senate

executive treaties

Requires a two-thirds ratification by the Senate

Executive Office of the President

Organization established to help the President carry out his major duties

executive orders

Rule of regulation issued by the President that has the effect of law

executive privilege

Constitutional privilege that allows the President and other high-ranking members of the executive branch to withhold information from Congress, the courts, and the public.

faithless electors

Members of the electoral college who do not vote for their party's chose representative

An action by the House of Representatives accusing the president, vice president, or any other high-ranking officials of "Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors".

"imperial presidency"

A U.S. presidency that is characterized as having powers outside of those given in the US constitution (term became popular in the 1970s)

independent agencies

Agencies that exist outside of the federal executive department

"lame duck" period

The period between the election of a new president and the succession of the new president (Nov-Jan)

Power of an executive to veto parts of a bill but not veto the entire bill.

National Security Council (NSC)

President's principal forum for considering national security and foreign policy matters

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Produces the President's budget for the year, under the Executive Branch

Bills not signed by the executive a certain number of days after Congress has gone out session die "in the pocket"

presidential honeymoon

Tendency to give the president an easy start in the first few months of the Presidency

pyramid structure

A president's subordinates report to him from a clear chain of command, ending with the chief of staff (who reports directly to the president)

representative democracy

Founded on the principal of elected officials voting for the people they represent (citizens)

Gov't where the presidency and Congressional majority are held by the same political party

United States V. Nixon (1973)

Decided that the president had rights to withhold information about national security matters but not about the goings-on of his own cabinet (Watergate Scandal). Resulted in a unanimous ruling against Nixon

Ability to reject a piece of legislation held by the executive branch

War Powers Act (1973)

Meant to limit the power of the President in matters of war; the President must notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops, and Congress has to give their approval for them to stay more than 90 days

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