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Test 4- gov

Terms in this set (58)

Interest Group
An organization of people with similar policy goals who enter the political process to try to achieve those goals.
Faction
According to Madison, a ____ is a group of individuals concerned more with their self-interest than with the rights of individuals outside the group or with the needs of societies as a whole.
Political Action Committees (PACs)
Groups that raise money from individuals and then distribute it in the form of contributions to candidates that the group supports. PACs must register with the FEC and report their donations and contributions to it. Individual contributions to a PAC are limited to $5,000 per year and a APC may give up to $5,000 to a candidate for each election.
Amicus Curiae Briefs
Written arguments submitted to the courts in support of one side of a case.
Class Action Lawsuits
Enable a group of people in a similar situation to combine their common grievances into a single suit.
Right-to-work Laws
A state law forbidding requirements that workers must join a union to hold their jobs. State right-to-work laws were specifically permitted by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947.
Public Interest Lobbies
According to Jeffrey Berry, organizations that seek "a collective good, the achievement of which will not selectively and materially benefit
Litigation
It is when people go to court in order to get a positive ruling for their cause. If there is a law that hurts a certain group of people, they can go to court and say that it is unlawful, and that it impinges on their rights.
Factions
James Madison described how a government could be designed to control the effects of ___.
In contrast to pluralists, elitists generally argue that
the power of a few is fortified by an extensive system of interlocking directorates
What is a public interest lobby/group?
a group that works to gain benefits for a society as a whole
According to hyperpluralists, interest group liberalism is promoted by iron triangles. What is the main goal for iron triangles?
protecting their self-interest
Bicameral Legislature
A legislature divided into two houses. The U.S Congress and all state legislatures except Nebraska's are bicameral.
Unicameral Legislature
One House. Nebraska has a unicameral legislature.
The U.S Congress is bicameral, as is every American state legislature except _____, which has one house (unicameral)
Nebraska
Majority Leader
The majority leader is responsible for scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes on behalf of the party's legislative positions.
Minority Leader
The principal leader of the minority party in the House of Representatives or in the Senate.
Joint Committees
Joint Committees Congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses.
Bill
A proposed law, drafted in legal language, Anyone can draft a bill, but only a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate can formally submit a bill for consideration.
The use of __________ in foreign matters is an example of the president acting as a global leader.
Executive agreements
What did the Framers do to avoid anarchy or monarchy in the executive branch?
They included separation of powers in the Constitution
Public approval
Presidents with high levels of have an easier time influencing Congress, while those with low levels find influencing Congress more difficult.
In which way do modern presidents differ from the original intentions of the Framers of the Constitution?
Modern presidents are much more influential in the legislative process than the Framers originally intended.
In which capacity is a modern Vice President particularly influential in American politics?
As an advisor in the policy-making process
Which of the following presidents had low budget deficits during his presidency?
Bill Clinton
Which of the following best describes the executive branch's role in the budget process before the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921?
Executive branch agencies sent budget requests to the secretary of the treasury.
The rise of the national security state first began after which national security event?
World War II
Which of the following statements best represents the hyperpluralist view?
The government is excessively deferential to groups.
How do lobbyists typically seek to influence members of the Congress?
by providing specialized expertise.
Elitist critics of pluralism have noted that ___
resources and political power are unequally distributed within society.
Members of Congress who receive contributions from political action committees (PACs) __________.
make sure that the PACs are granted access to the members and their staff
Why are campaign contributions so important for interest groups seeking to influence government?
Campaign contributions help elect candidates who are friendly to groups' goals.
You are a leader of a consumer rights group that has been unable to get a meeting with your elected representative in Congress. How could you get the attention of your legislator on the issues your group cares about?
Organize a demonstration in the representative's district and invite the media.
What is the main objective of most labor unions?
to protect jobs and secure favorable wages and benefits for their members.
To which of the following might political action committees (PACs) invest their contributions in order to maximize their political influence?
campaigns of incumbents
Each state has _____ senators selected every ____ years.
two, six
Members of Congress differ from the larger American population in that they are disproportionately...
white, upper-middle class, middle aged, and male.
The English politician and philosopher Edmund Burke favored the concept of legislators as
________, using their best judgment to make policy in the interests of the people.
Trustees
What best explains the overwhelming advantage incumbents possess in seeking reelection over opposition candidates?
name recognition, access to media, and franking privilege
Over the past three decades, the distance between the political parties in Congress has been growing steadily. As the parties have pulled apart ideologically, they also have also become more __________ internally.
homogenous
__________ committees exist in both the House and Senate, may be temporary or permanent, and usually have a focused responsibility.
select/special
Party leaders from the two chambers of Congress sometimes use __________ legislation that addresses numerous and perhaps unrelated subjects, issues, and programs to create winning coalitions, forcing members to support the entire bill to obtain the individual parts
Omnibus
The true leader of the Senate is the _____, elected by the majority party
majority leader
Most of the real work of Congress goes on in ____, which dominate congressional policymaking in all its stages.
committees
__________ organize hearings, research legislative options, draft reports on bills, write legislation, and keep tabs on the activities of the executive branch.
committee staffers
porkbarrel
federal projects, grants and contracts available to state and local governments, businesses, colleges and other institutions in a congressional district
Casework
the activities of a members of Congress that helps constituents as individuals, particularly by cutting through bureaucratic red tape.
conference committee
a special joint committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate
Which one of the powers listed below is a constitutional power that the president shares with the Senate?
Making treaties
Which institutional resource is closest to the president?
white house staff
Which statement about the news is generally true?
The news is usually framed in themes
what is an example of a business interest group?
the chamber of commerce
In the house of representatives, who is in authority to the speaker of the house?
majority leader
The committee system in congress is highly ____; thus, it is open to the appeals of a wide range of special interests represented by highly paid lobbyists. If congress were more ____ and only those interests cleared by the leadership received hearings, special interests might be constrained-but then there would be a danger that only interests reflecting the views of the leadership would be heard.
centralized; decentralized
Historically, vice-president candidates are chosen to _____
placate symbolic constituency
Which of these presidents is arguably the first modern president?
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
The largest growing federal expenditure category is ___
payments for individuals
Which of the following supports Allan Meltzer and Scott Richard's argument that government grows in a democracy because of the equality of suffrage?
Economically disadvantaged voters will support the social security state.
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