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AP Gov Unit 2 Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| administrative discretion/ discretionary authority | the ability of bureaucrats to make choices concerning the best way to implement congressional or executive intentions |
| agenda setting | the process of forming the list of issues to be addressed by government |
| amicus curiae | "friend of the court"; an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case |
| Appropriation legislation | A legislative grant of money to finance a government program or agency |
| Authorization Legislation | legislative permission to begin or continue a government program or agency |
| Borked | a judicial nominee who is rejected due to being ideologically extreme |
| Bully Pulpit | the view that a major power of the presidency, albeit not one prescribed by the constitution, is to draw attention to and generate support for particular positions |
| cloture | mechanism requiring the vote of sixty senators to cut off debate; A procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate. |
| Committee of the whole | a procedure that allows the house of reps to deliberate with a lower quorum and to expedite the consideration and amendment of a bill |
| Deficit | An excess of federal expenditures over federal revenues. |
| Delegate | Role played by reps who votes the way his or her constituents would want, regardless of personal opinions. |
| Discharge Petition | Petition that gives a majority of the house of reps the authority to bring an issue to the floor in the face of committee inaction |
| Discretionary Spending | The spending programs that Congress authorizes on an annual basis. |
| Divided Gov | The political condition in which different political parties control the presidency and at least one house of congress |
| Entitlement | Government benefits that all citizens meeting eligibility criteria- such as age income level, or unemployment- are legally "entitled" to receive |
| Executive Agreements | Formal international agreements entered into by the president that do not require the the advice and consent of the senate |
| Executive office of the president (EOP) | a mini-bureaucracy created in 1939 to help the president oversee the executive branch bureaucracy |
| Executive Order | Rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect of law. All executive orders must be published in the federal register |
| Filibuster | A formal way of halting senate action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate |
| Gerrymandering | The drawing of congressional districts to produce a particular electoral outcome without regard to the shape of the district |
| Hold (in senate) | A procedure by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill or nomination is brought to the floor. This request singals leadership that a member may have objections to the bill and should be consulted before further action is taken |
| House committee on rules | The influential "rules committee" determines the scheduling and conditions, such as length of debate and type of allowable amendments, for all bills in the house of reps (but not in senate where debate is less regulated) |
| Iron Triangle/ Issue Network | the relative ironclad relationship and patterns of interaction that occur among agencies, interest groups and congressional committees or subcommittees |
| Judicial activism | a philosophy of judicial decision making that posits judges should use their power broadly to further justice |
| judicial restraint | A philosophy of judicial decision making that posits courts should allow the decisions of other branches of gov to stand even when they offend a judges own principals |
| Judicial Review | power of the courts to review acts of other branches of gov and the states |
| Lame Duck | an executive or legislature during the period just before the end of a term of office, when its power and influence are considered to be diminished |
| Logrolling or reciprocity | Vote trading; voting to support a colleague's bill in return for a promise of future support |
| Majority-minority districts | In the context of determining representative districts, the process by which a majority of the population is from the minority. |
| Mandatory Spending | spending required by laws from certain programs, laws, etc. |
| Merit System | A system of employment based on qualifications, test scores, and ability, rather than party loyalty |
| Office of Management and Budget (OMB) | The office that prepares the president's annual budget proposal, reviews the budget and programs of the executive departments, supplies economic forecasts, and conducts detailed analyses of proposed bills and agency rules |
| Omnibus Legislation | Large bills that often cover several topics and may contain extraneous, or pork-barrel, projects. |
| Oversight | the effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies |
| Patronage | Jobs, grants, or other special favors that are given as rewards to friends and political allies for their support |
| Pocket Veto | If congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both houses of congress, the bill is considered vetoed without the president's signature |
| Politico | An elected representative who acts as a trustee or as a delegate depending on the issue |
| Pork/ Pork Barrel Legistlation | Legislation that allows representatives to bring money and jobs to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases or other programs |
| Power of the purse | Constitutional power given to Congress to raise and spend money |
| Precedent | A prior judicial decision that serves as a rule for settling subsequent cases of similar nature |
| Racial Gerrymandering | The drawing of election districts so as to ensure that members of a certain race are a minority in the district; ruled unconstitutional in Shaw v Reno |
| Recess Appointment | Presidential appointment made without Senate confirmation during Senate recess |
| Reconciliation | A procedure that allows consideration of controversial issues affecting the budget by limiting debate to twenty hours, thereby bending threat of filibuster |
| Redistricting | The process of redrawing congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats alotted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state |
| Rule making authority | a quasi-legislative process resulting in regulations that have the characteristics of a legislative act |
| Singing Statements | Occasional written comments attached to a bill signed by the president |
| Spoils system | The firing of a public office holders of a defeated political party to replace them with loyalists of the newly elected party |
| Stare Decisis | In court rulings, a reliance on past decisions or precedents to formulate decisions in new cases |
| Strict constructionism | An approach to the constitutional interpretation that emphasizes interpretation the constitution as it was originally written and intended by the framers |
| Trustee | Role played by and elected representative who listens to constituents opinions and then uses his or her best judgement to make a final decision |
| Unanimous consent (in senate) | A Senate requirement, applied to most of that body's business, that all senators agree before an action can proceed. |
| veto | The formal constitutional authority of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of congress, thus preventing them from becoming law without further congressional action |
| whip | party leader who keep close contact with all members of his or her party, takes vote counts on key legistlation, summaries of bills , and acts as a communications link within a party |
| white house staff | Personnel who run the White House and advise the President. Includes the Chief of Staff and Press Secretary |
| writ of certiorari | a request for the supreme court to order up the records form a lower court to review the case |
| baker v carr | "One man, one vote." Ordered state legislative districts to be as near equal as possible in population; Warren Court's judicial activism. |
| shaw v reno | NO racial gerrymandering; race cannot be the sole or predominant factor in redrawing legislative boundaries; majority-minority districts. |
| marbury v madison | case in which supreme court first asserted the power of judicial review by finding that part of the congressional statute extending the court's original jurisdiction was unconstitutional |
Created by:
Apanchal041