Confederal System
(Confederacy) A union of independent sovereign states, joined together by a central government that has limited powers over them
Major Principles of the Constitution
Popular Sovereignty, Federalism, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, Judicial Review, Limited Government
Popular Sovereignty
People are the source of government power
Federalism
Power is divided between national and state governments
Separation of Powers
Each of the three branches of government has its own responsibilities
Checks and Balances
Each branch of government holds some control over the other two branches
Judicial Review
Courts have power to declare laws, and actions of Congress and the president, unconstitutional
Limited Government
The Constitution limits the powers of government by making explicit grants of authority
The Legislative Branch (Congress)
Expressed powers/Enumerated powers
Expressed/Enumerated powers
Economic:
1. Levying taxes
2. Borrowing money
3. Regulating commerce
4. Coining money
5. Punishing counterfeiting
Defense:
1. Declaring war
2. Raising and supporting armed forces
3. Organizing the militia
Elastic clause:
The Congress can make all laws "ne
The Executive Branch (President)
1. Commander in chief of the armed forces and the state militias (National Guard)
2. Appointing heads of executive departments (with Senate's consent)
3. Pardoning people convicted of federal crimes, except in cases of impeachment, or reduce a person's se
The Judicial Branch (Supreme Court)
Federal jurisdiction is determined by: the subject matter of the case and who is involved in it
Sunset Law
Sets an automatic end date for the law
Sunshine Law
Prohibit public officials from holding closed meetings
Bureaucracy
Organization of government administrators to carry out legislation
Bicameral legislature
Made up of two houses - the Senate and the House of Representative
Gerrymandering
Drawing district boundaries to give one party an electoral advantage
Standing Committees
Deal with issues of permanent legislative concern
Conference Committees
For a bill to become law both houses must approve identical versions. When different versions are past the leaders create a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the two bills
Select Committees
Deals with temporary issues, investigation
Joint Committees
Consist of members of both houses usually created to deal with a specific issue
Subcommittees
Specializes in a subcategory of its standing committee's responsibility
Spoil system
Awarding government jobs
27th Amendment
The amendment prohibits a sitting Congress from giving itself a pay raise
Privileges of Members of Congress
Free from arrest "in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace,"when they are attending Congress or on their way to or from Congress.
Cannot be sued for anything they say on the House or Senate floor
Exclusion power
Each house may judge members' qualifications and decide whether to seat them, refuse to seat an elected member by a majority vote, and "punish its own members for disorderly behavior" by a majority vote and expel a legislator by a two-thirds vote
Censure
A vote of formal disapproval of a member's actions.
Incumbents
Those members already in office won reelection
Constituents
The people in the districts they represent
House Leadership
(1) organizing and unifying party members
(2) scheduling the work of the House
(3) making certain that lawmakers are present for key floor votes
(4) distributing and collecting information
(5) keeping the House in touch with the president
(6) influencing
The Speaker of the House
The presiding officer of the House and its most powerful leader
Caucus
A closed meeting of the majority party chooses the House Speaker at the start of each session of Congress, and the entire House membership approves the choice of Speaker
Majority leader
Speaker's top assistance
Help plan the party's legislative program
Steer important bills through the House
Make sure the chairpersons of the many committees finish work on bills important to the party.
Is the floor leader of his/her political party in the
Whips
Assistant floor leaders in the House
Bill
A proposed law
Calendars
List bills that are up for consideration.
Union Calendar
Lists bills dealing with money issues
House Calendar
Public bills
Private Calendar
Lists bills that deal with individual people or places
Consent Calendar
List bills that the House gives unanimous consent to debate out of regular order
Discharge Calendar
Used for petitions to discharge a bill from committee
The Rules Committee
The "traffic officer" in the House, helping to direct the flow of major legislation
One of the oldest House committees, and the most powerful
Has the power to decide how and when legislation will be considered by the House
Quorum
The minimum number of members who must be present to permit a legislative body to take official action
President pro tempore
Presides the Senate in the absence of Vice President
The Senate elects this leader
The Calendar of General Orders
Lists all the bills the Senate will consider
The Executive Calendar
Schedules treaties and nominations
Filibuster
An effort to prevent action in a legislature (such as the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives) by making a long speech or series of speeches
Cloture
A procedure that allows each senator to speak only 1 hour on a bill under debate
Seniority System
Gave the member of majority party with the longest uninterrupted service on a particular committee the leadership of that comittee
Personal Staff
Work directly for individual senators and representatives
Committee Staff
Work for House and Senate committees
Administrative Assistant
Runs lawmaker's office, supervises lawmaker's schedule, gives advice on political matters
Legislative Assistant
Makes certain that the lawmaker is well-informed about bills with which he or she must deal
Congressional Budget Office
Coordinates the budget making work of Congress, study the budget proposals put forward by the President each year, and make cost projections of proposed new programs
Caseworkers
Personal staff members who handle the many requests for help from people in a lawmaker's state or congressional district
Revenue bills
Laws for raising money
Appropriations bills
Proposed laws to authorize spending money
Impeachment
A formal accusation of misconduct in office
Subpoena
A legal order that a person appear or produce requested documents
Perjury
Lying under oath
Contempt
Willful obstruction
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
Line-item veto
Veto only certain lines or items in a bill
Private bills
deal with individual people or places
Public bills
deal with general matters and apply to the entire nation
Simple resolution
covers matters affecting only one house of Congress and is passed by that house alone
Joint resolution
When both houses pass a joint resolution the president's signature gives it the force of law
Concurrent resolutions
cover matters requiring the action of the House and Senate, but on which a law is not needed
Riders
a provision on a subject other than the one covered in the bill
Pigeonholing
kill the bill by a majority vote
Hearing
The committee listens to testimony from witnesses who may include experts on the subject of the bill, government officials, or representatives of interest groups concerned with the bill
Pocket veto.
The president kills a bill passed during the last 10 days Congress is in session by refusing to act on it
Ways and Means Committee
decides whether to go along with presidential requests for tax cuts or increases
Closed rule
Forbids members to offer any amendments to a bill from the floor
Appropriation
Approval of government spending
Authorization bill
sets up a federal program and specifies how much money may be appropriated for that program
Entitlements
social programs that continue from one year to the next
Lobbyists
representatives of interest groups
Lobbying
efforts to persuade officials to support lobbyists point of view
Casework
Helping constituents with problems
pork-barrel legislation
Congress passes laws to appropriate money for such local federal projects
Logrolling
Agreements by two or more lawmakers to support each other's bills
Cabinet
15 secretaries, the vice president, and several other top officials
Central clearance
The OMB reviews all legislative proposals executive agencies prepare
National security adviser
A special assistant for national security affairs directs the National Security Council (NSC) staff
Mandate
Strong popular support
Executive order
Rules that have the force of law
Reprieve
Grants a postponement of legal punishment
Pardon
Releases from legal punishment
Amnesty
A group-pardon to people for an offense against the government
Patronage
Appointment to political office rewarding those persons who support the president and the party during an election
Embassy
Offices of ambassadors in foreign countries who analyzes data about American interests in other countries, and speaks for the United States in the United Nations
Department of State
is responsible for the overall foreign policy of the United States and protects the rights ofUnited States citizens traveling in foreign countries
Department of the Treasury
Manages the monetary resources of the United States
Department of the Interior
Protects public lands and natural resources throughout the nation and oversees relations with Native Americans
Department of Agriculture
Helps farmers improve their incomes and expand their markets by developing conservation programs and provides financial credit to farmers, safeguarding the nation's food supply
Department of Justice
Oversees the nation's legal affairs
Department of Commerce
Promotes and protects the industrial and commercial segments of the American economy
Department of Labor
Protects American workers by ensuring safe working conditions, safeguards a minimum wage, and protects pension rights
Department of Defense
Protects the nation's security
Department of Health and Human Services
Directs programs concerned with the health and social services needs of the American, manages the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs and helps senior citizens and less fortunate Americans through the Social Security Administration
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Preserves the nation's communities and ensure Americans of equal housing opportunities
Department of Transportation
Regulates all aspects of American transportation needs, policy development, and planning
Department of Energy
Plans energy policy and researches and develops energy technology
Department of Education
Oversees programs to help students with limited English proficiency as well as programs for physically challenged students
Department of Veterans Affairs
Administers several hospitals as well as educational and other programs designed to benefit veterans and their families
Department of Homeland Security
Controls the Coast Guard, the Border Patrol, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Customs Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, etc., and analyzes information collected by the FBI and the CIA
General Services Administration
Constructs and maintains all government buildings, supplies equipment for federal offices
Central Intelligence Agency
Gathers information about what is going on in other countries, evaluates it, and passes it on to the president and other foreign-policy decision makers
Government corporations
Businesses the federal government runs
Deregulate
Reduce the powers of regulatory agencies
Pendleton Act
Creates the federal civil service system
Civil service system
The principle and practice of government employment on the basis of open, competitive examinations and merit
Benefits of government jobs
Salaries are competitive with those in private industry.
Get from 13 to 26 days of paid vacation every year, depending on the length of their service.
Have extensive health insurance plans and 13 days of sick leave every year.
May retire at age 55
Hatch Act
Limits how involved federal government employees can become in elections by prohibiting federal employees from engaging in political activities while on duty, including wearing a campaign button. They cannot run for partisan elective offices or solicit co
Social Security Act
Makes it possible for disabled workers to receive payments from the government
Client groups
The individuals and groups who work with the agency and are most affected by its decisions
Liaison officers
Promotes cabinet members good relations with Congress
Injunction
An order that will stop a particular action or enforce a rule or regulation
Iron triangle
A close relationship between an agency, a congressional committee, and an interest group
Jurisdiction (of the Court)
The authority to hear certain cases
Federal courts are also given the jurisdictional authority to hear cases if certain parties or persons are involved
(l) ambassadors and other representatives of foreign governments
(2) two or more state governments
(3) the United States government or one of its offices or agencies
(4) citizens who are residents of different states
(5) citizens who are residents of the
Concurrent jurisdiction
Both federal and state courts have jurisdiction
Original jurisdiction
The authority to hear cases for the first time
Appellate jurisdiction
Authority of court to review a decision of a lower court or administrative agency.
Litigants
People engaged in a lawsuit
Due process clause
No state may deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without the due process of law
Constitutional courts
Federal courts created by Congress under Article III of the Constitution, including the district courts, courts of appeals, and specialized courts such as the U.S. Court of International Trade
Grand jury
A jury of 12 to 23 persons who, in private, hear evidence presented by the government to determine whether persons shall be required to stand trial. If the jury believes there is sufficient evidence that a crime was committed, it issues an indictment.
Indictment
A formal accusation charging a person with a crime
Petit jury/trial jury
A jury of 6 to 12 persons that determines guilt or innocence in a civil or criminal action.
Judicial circuits
a region containing a united states appellate court
The Court of International Trade
Has jurisdiction over cases involving tariffs
Legislative courts
Courts created by Congress for specialized purposes whose judges do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution
Senatorial courtesy
Presidential custom of submitting the names of prospective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work.