Poli Sci 110
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- reapportionment
- the assigning by congress of congressional seats after each census. state legislatures reapportion state legislative districts.
- redistricting
- the redrawing of congressional and other legislative district's lines following the census, to accomodate the population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population
- gerrymandering
- the drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumband
- safe seat
- and elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so the success of that party's candidate is almost taken for granted
- incumbants
- the current holder of elected office
- bicameralism
- the principle of a two-house legislature
- enumerated powers
- the powers explicity given to congress in the constituion
- speaker
- the presiding officer in the house of representatives, formally "elected" by the house but actually selected by the majority party
- minority leader
- the legislative leader selected by the minority party as spokesperson for the opposition
- whip
- party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank-and-file in the legislature
- party caucus
- a meeting of the members of a party in a legislative chamber to select party leaders and to develop party policy (called a conference by Republicans)
- closed rule
- a procedural rule in the house that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee presenting the bill may offer amendments
- open rule
- a procedural rule in the house that permits floor amendments within the overall time allotted to the bill
- president protempore
- officer of the senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president
- hold
- a procedural practice in the senate whereby a senator temporarily blocks the consideration of a bill or nomination
- filibuster
- a procedural practice whereby a asenator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue
- cloture
- a procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the senate
- senatorial courtesy
- presidential custom of prospective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work
- standing committee
- a permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a policy area
- special or select committee
- a congressional committee created for a specific purpose, sometimes to conduct an investigation
- joint committee
- a committee composed of members of both the house and the senate. such committees oversee the library of congress and conduct investigations
- seniority rule
- legislative practice that assigns the chair of a committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee
- conference committee
- committee appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber to adjust differences on a particular bill passed by each in different forms
- delegate
- an official who is expected to represent the views of his/her constituents regardless of their own views (one interprestation of the role of legislature)
- trustee
- an official who is expected to vote independently based on their own judgement of the circumstances (another interpretation of the role of legislature)
- attentive public
- those citizens who follw public affairs carefully
- logrolling
- mutual aid and vote trading among legislators
- discharge petition
- petition that, if signed by a majority of the members of the house, will pry a bill from a committee and bring it to the floor for consideration
- rider
- a provision attached to a bill--to which it may or not be related--in order to secure its passage
- pocket veto
- a formal decision to reject a bill passed by congress after it adjourns--if congress adjourns during the 10 days the president is allowed in order to sign or veto a law, the president can reject the law by taking no action
- override
- an action taken by congress to reverse a presidential veto, requiring a 2/3s majority in each chamber
- parliamentary system
- a system of government in which the legislautre selects the prime minister or president
- Presidential ticket
- the joint listing of the presidential candidates on the same ballot as required by the 12th amendment
- treaty
- a formal, public agreememt between the U.S. and one or more nations that must be approved by 2/3s of the senate
- executive agreement
- a formal but often secret agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that does not require senate approval
- veto
- a formal decision to reject a bill passed by congress
- take care clause
- the constitutional requirement that presidents take care that the laws are faithfully executed, even if they disagree with the purpose
- inherent powers
- powers that grow out of the very existence of government
- state of the union address
- the president's annual statement to congress and the nation
- impeachment
- formal accusation against the president or other public official; the first step in removal from office
- executive privilage
- the right to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to national security
- impoundment
- a decision by the president not to spend money appropriated by congress, now prohibited
- line item veto
- presidential power to strike, or remove, specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package, delcared unconstitutional by courts
- chief of staff
- head of the whitehouse staff
- executive office of the president
- the cluster of presidential staff agencies that help the president carry out his responsibilities
- executive orders
- a formal order issued by the president to direct action by the federal bureaucracy
- office of management and budget
- presidential staff agency that serves as a clearinghouse for budgetary requests and management improvements for government agencies
- cabinet
- advisory council for the president, consisting of the heads of the executive departments, the vice president, and a few other officials selected by the president
- rally point
- a rise in public approval of the president that follows a crisis
- mandate
- a president's claim of broad public support
- bureaucracy
- form of organization that operates through impersonal, uniform rules and procedures
- bureaucrat
- a career government employee
- department
- usually the largest organization in government; also the highest rank in federal hierarcy (ie cabinet depts.)
- independent agency
- a government entity that is indepenedent of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches (ie CIA)
- independent regulatory commission
- a government agency or commission with regulatory power whose indpendence is protected by congress (ie FCC)
- government corporation
- a government agency that operates like a business corporation, created to secure greater freedom of action and flexibility for a particular program (ie US postal service)
- senior executive service
- established in 1978 as a mobile corps of senior career executives who work closely with presidential appointees to manage government
- spoils system
- a system of public appointement/employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends
- merit system
- a system of public appointment/employment in which selection and promotion depend on demonstrated performance rather than political patronage
- Hatch Act
- federal statute barring federal employees from active participation in certain kinds of politics and protecting them from being fired on partisan grounds
- implementation
- the process of putting a law into practice through buraucratic rules or spending
- administrative discretion
- authority given by congress to the federal bureaucracy to use reasonable judgement in implementing the laws
- regulations
- the formal instructions that government issues for implementing laws
- rule-making process
- the formal process for making regulations