political scienceexam2

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who is the agricultural commissioner: the elected state official who is primarily responsible for enforcing agricultural laws
who is the lieutenant governor?: the second highest elected official in the state and president of the state senate
how often does redistricting happen and what does it reflect?: it happens every ten years and reflects shifts in population or in response to legal challenges in existing districts
what are constituents: the residents in the area from which an official is elected
what is bicameral: having a legislative assembly composed of two chambers or houses
what is sociological representation: representatives have the same racial, gender, ethnic, religious, or educational backgrounds as their constituents
what is sociological representation based on?: the principal that if two individuals are similar in background, character, interests, and perspectives, then one could correctly represent the other's views
what is agency representation: a representative is held accountable to a constituency if he or she fails to represent that constituency properly
what is incumbency: holding a political office for which one is running
what are term limits?: legally prescribed limits on the number of terms an elected official can serve
what is apportionment: the process occurring after every decennial census, that allocates congressional seats among the fifty states
what is redistricting?: the process of redrawing election districts and redistributing legislative representatives
what is gerrymandering?: apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one racial or ethnic group or political party
what is patronage?: the resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and to confer grants, licenses, or special favors to supporters
what is a pork barrel: appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but that are created so that local representatives can win re-election in their home districts
what is a private bill: a proposal in congress to provide a specific person with some kind of relief, such as a special exemption from immigration quotas
what is a conference: a gathering of house republicans every two years to elect their house leaders.
what do democrats call their conference?: the caucus
what is a caucus (political): a normally closed meeting of a political or legislative group to select candidates, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters
who is the speaker of the house?: the chief presiding officer of the house of representatives.
who is the most important house leader?: the speaker of the house
who is the majority leader?: the elected leader of the majority party in the house of representatives or in the senate.
in the house, who is subordinate in the party heirarchy to the speaker of the house?: the majority leader
who is the minority leader?: the elected leader of the minority party in the house or senate
what is a whip?: a party member in the house or senate responsible for coordinating the party's legislative strategy, building support for key issues, and counting votes
what is a standing committee?: a permanent committee with the power to propose and write legislation that covers a particular subject such as finance or agriculture
what is a select committee: a (usually) temporary legislative committee set up to highlight or investigate a particular issue or address an issue not within the jurisdiction of existing committees
what is a joint committee?: a legislative committee formed of members of both the house and the senate
what is a conference committee?: a joint committee created to work out a compromise on house and senate versions of a piece of legislation
what is seniority?: ranking given to an individual on the basis of length of continuous service on a committee in congress
what is staff agency?: a legislative support agency responsible for policy analysis
what is a caucus (congressional)?: an association of members of congress based on party, interest, or social group, such as gender, or race
what is a bill?: a proposed law that has been sponsored by a member of congress and submitted to the clerk of the house or senate
what is a committee markup?: session in which a congressional committee rewrites legislation to incorporate changes discussed during hearings on the bill
what is a closed rule?: a provision by the house rules committee limiting or prohibiting the introduction of amendments during debate
what is open rule: a provision by the house rules committee that permits floor debate and the addition of new amendments to a bill
what is a filibuster: a tactic used by members of the senate to prevent action on legislation they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority back down.
what is a cloture?: a rule allowing a majority of two-thirds or three-fifths of the members of a legislative body to set a time limit on debate over a given bill
what is a veto?: the presidents constitutional power to turn down acts of congress
what is a pocket veto?: a presidentional veto that is automatically triggered in the president does not act on a given piece of legislation passed during the final ten days of a legislative session
what is a party unity vote?: a roll-call vote in the house or senate in which at least 50 percent of the members of one party take a particular position and are opposed by at least 50 percent of the members of the other party
what is a roll-call vote?: a vote in which each legislator's yes or no vote is recorded as the clerk calls the names of the members alphabetically
what is logrolling?: a legislative practice whereby agreements are made between legislators in voting for or against a bill; vote trading
what is oversight?: the effort by congress, through hearings, investigation, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies
what are appropriations: the amounts of money approved by congress in statutes (bills) that each unit or agency of government can spend
what is an executive agreement?: an agreement made between the prsident and another country that has the force of a treaty but does not require the senate's advice and consent
what is impeachment?: the formal charge by the house of representatives that a government official has committed treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors
what is a delegate?: a representative who votes according to the preferences of his or her constituency
what is a trustee?: a representative who vites based on what he or she thinks is best for his or her constituency
what are expressed powers?: specific powers granted by the constitution to congress and to the president
what are delegated powers: constitutional powers that are assigned to one governmental agency but that are exercised by another agency with the express permission of the first
what are inherent powers?: powers claimed by a president that are not expressed in the constitution, but are inferred from it.
what is the commander in chief?: the role of the president as commander of the national military and the state national guard units
what is the war powers resolution?: a resolution of congress that the president can send troops into action abroud only by authorization of congress, or if american troops are already under attack or serious threat.
what is the cabinet?: the secretaries, or chief administrators, of the major departments of the federal government.
who appoints the cabinet members?: president with consent of the senate
what is the national security council (nsc)?: a presidential foreign policy advisory council composed of the president; the vice president; the secretaries of state, defense, and the treasury; the attorney general; and other officials invited by the president
who are the white house staff?: analysts and advisers to the president, often given the title "special assistant"
what is the kitchen cabinet?: and informal group of advisers to whom the president turns for counsel and guidance. members of the official cabinet may or may not also be members of the itchen cabinet
what is the executive office of the president (eop): the permanent agencies that perform defined management tasks for the president
what is a mandate?: a claim by a victorious candidate that the electorate has given him orher special authority to carry out promises made during the campaign
what is a bureaucracy?: the complex structure of offices, tasks, rules, and principles of organization that are employed by all large scale institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel
what is implementation?: the efforts of departments and agencies to translate laws into specific bureaucratic routines
what is rule making?: a quasi-legislative administration process by which government agencies produce regultions
what is administrative adjudication?: applying rules and precedents to specific cases to settle disputes between regulated parties.
what is a merit system?: a product of civil service reform, in which appointees to positions in public bureaucracies must objectivesly be deemed qualified for those positions
what is the department?: the larges subunit of the executive brance. the secretaries of the fifteen departments from the cabinet
what is an independent agency?: an agency that is not part of a cabinet department
what is a government corporation?: a government agency that perform a service normally provided by the private sector
what are regulatory agencies?: departments, bureaus, or independent agencies whose primary mission is to impose limits restrictions, or other obligations on the conduct of individuals or companies in the private sector
what is the iron triangle?: the stable, cooperative relationship that often develops among a congressional committee, an administrative agency, and one or more supportive interest groups
what is fiscal policy?: the governments use of taxing, monetary and spending powers to manipulate the economy
what is the federal reserve system?: a system of twelve federal reserve banks that facilitates exchanges of cash, checks, and credit; regulates member banks; and uses monetary policies to fight inflation and deflation
what are revenue agencies?: agencies responsible for collecting taxes
what is deregulation?: a policy of reducing or eliminating regulatory restraints on the conduct of individuals or private institutions
what is devolution?: a policy to remove a program from one level of government by delegating it or passing it down to a lower level of government, such as from the national government to the state and local governments
what is privatization?: removing all or part of a program from the public sector to the private sector
what is executive privilege?: the claim that confidentioal communications between a president and close advisers should not be revealed without the consent of the president
what is the sunset advisory commission (SAC): a commission created in 1975 for the purpose of reviewing the effectiveness of state agencies
in congress, most of the work is done in: committees
what is a bicameral legislature composed of?: two chambers or houses
what is the regular session?: the 140 day period during with the texas legislature meets toconsider and pass bills; occurs only in odd-numbered years
what does biennial mean?: occurring every two years
what is a special session?: a legislative session called by the governor that addresses an agenda set by him or her and that lasts no longer than thirty days
what is a local bill?: a bill affecting only units of local government such as a city, country, or special district
what is a special bill?: a bill that gives an individual or corporation a special exemption from state law
what is a general bill?: a bill that applies to all people and/or property in the state
what is appointment: the power of the chief executive, whether the president of the us or the governor of a state, to appoint persons to office
what is a single-member district?: an electorate that is allowed to select only one representative from each district
what is plural executive?: an executive branch in which power is fragmented because the election of statewide officeholders is independent of the election of the governor
who is the secretary of state?: the state official, appointed by the governor, whose primary responsibility is administering elections
what is a resolution?: a proposal, made by a member of the legislature, that generally deals with the internal workings of the government
what is a concurrent resolution?: a resolution of interest to both chambers of the legislature, and that must pass both the house and senate and generally be signed by the governor
what is a joint resolution?: a resolution that must pass both the house and senate but does not require the governor's signature
what is a simple resolution?: a resolution that concerns only the texas house or senate such as the adoption of a rule or the appointment of an employee, and does not require the governor's signature
what are constituent powers?: efforts made by a member of a legislature on behalf of his or her constituency
what is a constituent?: a person living in the district from which an official is elected
what are electoral powers?: the legislature's mandated role in counting returns in the elections for governor and lieutenant governor
what are investigative powers?: the power to investigate problems facing the state
what are directive and supervisory powers?: the legislature's power over the executive branch; for example, the legislature determines the size of appropriations for state agencies
who is the comptroller?: the elected state official who directs the collection of taxes and other revenues
who is the attorney general?: the elected state official who serves as the state's chief civil lawyer
who is the land commissioner?: elected state official who is the manager of most publicly owned lands
the house of representatives tends to be: more policy generalize and deliberative
how many members are there in the senate?: 100
how many members are there in the house?: 435
what is the one-person, one-vote principle: the principle that all districts should have roughly equal populations
what are judicial powers?: the power of the house to impeach and of the senate to convict members of the executive and judicial branches of state government
what are the steps of the legislative process. (there are 6): 1. introduction 2. referral 3. consideration 4. floor action 5. conference committee 6. action by the governor
what is pigeonholing?: a step in the legislative process during which a bill is killed by the chair of the standing committee to which it was referred, as a result of his or her setting the bill aside and not bringing it before the committee
what is a filibuster?: a tactic that members of the senate use to prevent action on legislation they appose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down
what is a post-adjournment veto?: a veto of a bill that occurs after the legislature adjourns, thus preventing the legislature from overriding it
what is a line-item veto?: the power of the executive to veto specific provisions(lines) of a bill passed by the legislature
what is recognition?: the speaker of the house's power to control the floor debate by recognizing who can speak before the house
what is senatorial courtesy?: the practice whereby the governor seeks the support of the senator from the nominee's district
what is executive budget? the state budget prepared and submitted by the governor to the legislature, which indicates the governor's spending priorities: what is legislative budget? that state budget that is prepared and submitted by the legislative budget board (lbb) and that is fully considered by the house and senate
nancy pelosi, the most powerful member of the house of representatives, holds the position of: house speaker
by supporting budget bills with a heavy level of "pork-barrel", representatives aim to: gain benefits for their constituency
earmarks are funds allocated by congress that support specific projects. they commonly come in the form of tax exemptions (t or f): true
representatives use a hometown orientation in hopes of presenting themselves in a positive manner to their constituency (t or f): true
what is it called when representatives use a hometown orientation in hopes of presenting themselves in a positive manner to their constituency, and who is it by: it's called homestyle and it's by robert fenno
house representatives...: are elected every 2 years are at least 25 years old have been a citizen for at least 7 years
senators...: are elected every 6 years are at least 30, have been a citizen for at least 9 years
senatorial elections are staggered so that 1/2 are elected every 2 years (t or f): false
the census is taken every...: 10 years
gerrymandering is ____, and is completely ____: redistricting, illegal
congress is demographically representative of the american government (t or f): false
who originally appointed senators?: state governments
who appoints senators now, and by what amendment: we do, by the 17th amendment
who is the 26th district house representative: burgess
the two senators from texas are: hutchison and cornyn
what was the name of the court case that concluded that congress cannot refuse to seat their members?: powell vs. mccormick
what is an open seat?: no incumbent or running for reelection
what is a safe seat?: 60 percent vote of party
what are seats within a marginal district?: split vote
what is the process where congressional seats are passed out: apportionment
the midwest and midatlantic regions of america have experienced the greatest loss of congressional seats. areas in the west and south have gained the most. (t or f): true
every 2 years at the beginning of a new congress the members of each party gather to elect their house leaders. house republicans call this the...: conference
every 2 years at the beginning of a new congress, the members of each party gather to elect their house leaders. house democrats call this the: caucus
seniority is determined by...: length of continuous time spent on a committee
closed rule puts severe limits on floor debate, open rule allots more time for debate. what committee establishes which system will be used?: rules committee (house)
debate in the senate is committed to being restrictive on time. (t or f): false
filibuster is broken by how much of a vote?: 3/4
impeachment is...: a formal charge by the house of representatives against a government official
how much of a vote is needed for removal: 2/3
how many presidents have been impeached in american history?: 2
who were the presidents that were impeached?: johnson and clinton
_____ wanted a vigorous and oportunistic executive; government should revolve around the president; loyalty was very important.: hamilton
_____ wanted a carefully circumscribed executive that congress could limit through checks and balances: madison
____ wanted a power based executive; congress and the president should be equals; president should be a strong party leader: jefferson
the president was established by which article of the constitution: 2nd
the presidents powers and duties are marked in article: 2,3
specific powers granted by the constitution to congress and to the president is called...: expressed powers
constitutional powers that are assigned to one governmental agency but are exercised by another agency with the expressed permission of the first: delegated powers
powers claimed by the president that are not expressed in the constitution but are inferred from it are: inherited powers
the electoral college is the direct election of the president and supports mob rule (t or f): false
the house that can remove the president is the: senate
andrew johnson was brough up on charges of impeachment after her failed to abide by: the tenure of office act
how many votes kept johnson from conviction?: 1
who is expected to propose the nation's budget?: the president
the chief administrators of the major departments of the federal government are comprised in what is called a: cabinet
the office of management and budget has the capacity to analyze and approve all legislative proposals before they are submitted to congress (t or f): true
the informal group of advisors to whom the president turns for counsel is called the: kitchen cabinet
white house staff members are often called: special assistants
the national security council is the presidents foreign advisory counsel (t or f): true
presidents appeal to the public to draw support, the limitations of this include: support is unstable and presidential promises generally are not fulfilled
since the new deal the powers of congress have increased while presidential powers have decreased: false
what form of a presidential veto is no longer used: line item veto
what is the only state that still does line item veto: texas
congress can override an executive veto by: 2/3 vote
domestic orders that do not require the president to have congressional approval are called: executive order
in general, are there more treaties or executive agreements made?: executive agreements
the war powers act was put in place because nixon was..: engaging in secret bombings.
the scandal that refers to the committee to re-elect the president is known as...: the watergate scandal
nixon was impeached (t or f): false
who investigated the clinton's connection to the whitewater vacation development?: kenneth star
when nixon refused to give up watergate tapes, he claimed he had: executive privilege
bill clinton was impeached (t or f): true
texas congress meets..: for 140 days every other year
what kind of session is this...: a biennial session
how many members are in the texas house of representatives: 150
how many members are in the texas senate?: 31
who presides over the texas senate?: the lieutenant governor
for membership, state senators must be: qualified voters state resident for 5 years, at least 26 years old
for membership in the state house of representatives must be: qualified voters, state resident for 2 years, at least 21 years old
how long is a term in the state house of representatives: 2 years
how long is a term in the state senate: 4 years
texas congressmen get paid as much as those in the federal congress (t or f): false
how much do those in federal congress make?: 7000 dollars a year, most have other full time jobs
the governor may call as many special sessions as he wants. who sets the agenda for these sessions?: the governor
revenue bills originate in..: the house of representatives
constituent powers, electoral powers, investigative powers, directive and supervisory powers and judicial powers are all...: nonlegislative powers
when a committee chair sets a bill aside and never brings it before the committee it is called: pigeonholing
in the texas senate bills are reviewed in numerical order (t or f): true
a bill can pass the house and senate...: only in identical form
texas congress is different from federal congress in that...: congress is less partisan
who recognizes who can speak before the house of representatives?: speaker of the house
what party now controls the texas senate and the texas house of representatives: republicans
what is a cost of living adjustment?: a bonus
what is franking privilege?: congress gets free mail
who is the president pro tempore?: the member of the senate with the most seniority
what are the president's expressed powers?: they're listed specifically in the constitution
how many electoral college votes are there?: 538
how many electoral votes do you need to win?: 270
what is the war powers resolution act?: an act that limited the president's commander in chief position. stated that congress declared war
what is the electoral college?: where we vote the electors and they vote the president

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Created By britneyzurovetz