US Government Chapter 6 Vocabulary
Terms regarding constitutional powers, investigation and oversight, and Congress and the President.
Terms
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- Contempt
- Willful obstruction of justice.
- Impeachment
- A formal accusation of misconduct in office against a public official.
- Revenue Bill
- A law proposed to raise money.
- Implied Powers
- Powers that the government requires to carry out the expressed constitutional powers.
- Bankruptcy
- Legal proceedings to administer the assets of a person or business that cannot pay its debts.
- Subpoena
- A legal order that a person appear or produce requested documents.
- Necessary and Proper Clause
- Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, which gives Congress the power to make all laws that are necessary and proper for carrying out its duties (also called Elastic Clause).
- Ex Post Facto Laws
- Laws that make crimes of acts that were legal when they were committed.
- Writ of Habeas Corpus
- A court order to release a person accused of a crime to court to determine whether he or she has been legally detained.
- Bill of Attainder
- A law that establishes guilt and punishes people without a trial (Congress is denied the authority to pass these laws).
- National Budget
- A yearly financial plan for the national government.
- Expressed Powers
- Powers directly stated in the constitution (also called Enumerated Powers).
- National Debt
- the total amount of money the government owes at any given time
- Interstate Commerce
- Trade among the states.
- Perjury
- Lying under oath.
- Legislative Veto
- The provisions congress wrote into some laws that allowed it to review and cancel actions of executive agencies.
- Legislative Oversight
- A continuing review by Congress of how effectively the executive branch carries out the laws Congress passes.
- Line-item Veto
- Allows the President to veto only certain lines or items in a bill (determined unconstitutional after Clinton used it)
- Immunity
- Freedom from prosecution for witnesses whose testimony ties them to illegal acts.
- Impoundment
- The president's refusal to spend money Congress has voted to fund a program.
- Patent
- The exclusive right of an inventor to manufacture, use, and sell his or her invention for a specific period, currently 17 years, and may be renewed.
- Appropriations Bill
- A proposed law to authorize spending money.