AP®︎ U.S. Government & Politics: Unit 2 Flashcards

The principle that representatives debate and decide public policy on behalf of the people

Division of Congress into the House and Senate, both of which generally must pass identical legislation

The 435-member chamber apportioned by state population, with district-based members elected together to two-year terms and more formal debate than the Senate

The 100-member chamber representing each state equally with two senators, six-year staggered terms, statewide constituencies, and less formal debate than the House

Senate seats are divided into three classes, so about one-third are elected every two years while two-thirds remain

The constitutional article that establishes Congress as the national legislative branch

Powers expressly granted to Congress by the Constitution, especially in Article I, Section 8

Congressional powers not stated word for word but reasonably connected to carrying out enumerated powers

The clause authorizing Congress to make laws needed to carry out enumerated and other constitutionally vested federal powers

Congress’s authority to regulate commerce among the states, including activity crossing state lines or substantially affecting interstate commerce

Congress’s control over federal spending through appropriations

Congressional review, monitoring, and investigation of how the executive branch and federal agencies administer laws

The House uniquely originates revenue bills, impeaches federal officials, and chooses the president by state delegations when no candidate wins an Electoral College majority

The Senate uniquely tries impeachments, approves specified appointments and treaties, and chooses the vice president when no candidate wins an Electoral College majority

The House’s principal presiding and political officer, chosen by the House and normally the majority-party leader

Party leaders who coordinate their respective parties' legislative strategies in the House

Party officials who count votes, communicate leadership positions, persuade members, and encourage attendance for important votes

Party leaders who coordinate their parties’ Senate strategies, with the majority leader serving as the chamber’s principal scheduler and legislative strategist

The senator who presides over the Senate in the vice president’s absence

A permanent congressional committee with continuing jurisdiction over a broad policy area

A committee created for a particular investigation or study, often temporarily and sometimes without power to report legislation

A committee containing House and Senate members that generally conducts studies, investigations, or administrative coordination

A temporary bicameral committee that reconciles differences between House and Senate versions of legislation

The majority-party member who leads a committee and influences hearings, witnesses, markups, and voting schedules

A committee proceeding used to gather testimony and information, question officials, and publicize policy issues

A committee session in which members consider a bill section by section and vote on revisions, additions, or deletions

The House committee that sets the conditions for debating most major bills, including debate time and permitted amendments

All House members meeting under expedited debate rules and a 100-member quorum, without authority to pass a bill finally

A House procedure through which 218 representatives can remove a bill from committee and move it toward floor consideration

A Senate arrangement that bypasses procedural steps or sets debate terms when no senator objects

An informal senator's request that party leaders delay floor consideration of a bill or nomination

A Senate tactic of prolonging or threatening extended debate to delay or prevent a final vote

The procedure for limiting Senate debate, normally requiring three-fifths of senators duly chosen and sworn, or 60 when all 100 seats are filled

A bill is introduced, referred to committee, approved in identical form by the House and Senate, presented to the president, and signed or enacted over a veto

Federal spending required by existing law and determined by legal commitments and eligibility, not annual appropriations

A program whose law guarantees authorized benefits to people who satisfy its eligibility rules, such as Social Security or Medicare

Federal spending approved through the annual appropriations process, including defense, education, research, and infrastructure

The amount by which federal expenditures exceed federal revenues during a fiscal period

Funding for a project benefiting a particular district, state, or locality, usually included in a larger bill

The exchange of political favors among legislators, especially reciprocal vote trading on different priorities

The redistribution after each census of the 435 House seats among the states according to population

The redrawing of electoral district boundaries within a state, generally after reapportionment

Drawing electoral district boundaries to advantage a political party, racial group, incumbent, or other interest

Unequal representation caused by legislative districts with substantially different populations

Held that Equal Protection challenges to legislative malapportionment may be heard by federal courts, enabling later enforcement of “one person, one vote.”

The principle that legislative districts must have substantially equal populations so each person’s vote carries roughly equal weight

Held that districts drawn predominantly by race are subject to strict scrutiny: they must serve a compelling interest and be narrowly tailored

An electoral district in which a racial or ethnic minority constitutes a majority of the voting-age population

The electoral benefits enjoyed by current officeholders, including name recognition, fundraising, media attention, casework, and an established campaign organization

Voting by members of Congress according to their political party affiliation

Movement of political attitudes and parties toward opposing ideological extremes, increasing the distance and reducing the overlap between them

A situation in which Congress cannot act on legislation because it lacks sufficient consensus

Government in which one party controls the presidency and the other party controls at least one chamber of Congress

A president whose successor has been chosen or who cannot or will not remain in office; the president retains full constitutional authority but often has reduced political leverage

Representation in which a legislator votes according to personal knowledge and judgment rather than treating constituent opinion as binding

Representation in which a legislator acts as an agent of constituents and votes according to their preferences

Representation that combines the trustee and delegate approaches according to the issue and political circumstances

Presidential powers expressly granted by the Constitution

Presidential tools developed through political practice, precedent, or statutory delegation rather than separately named in the Constitution

The official who presides over the Senate, casts tie-breaking votes, succeeds the president when required, and may perform advisory or policy assignments

The executive department heads, vice president, and other officials given Cabinet rank who advise the president and administer federal agencies

Organizations and advisers—including the White House Office, OMB, NSC, and CEA—that directly help the president develop policy, coordinate priorities, and manage the executive branch

An Executive Office of the President agency that prepares the president’s budget, reviews agency regulations and spending, and helps coordinate executive policy

The president's return of a bill with written objections; Congress can override it with a two-thirds vote in both chambers

The defeat of an unsigned bill when congressional adjournment prevents its return during the 10-day period; it cannot be overridden

Congress’s enactment of a vetoed bill by a two-thirds vote in each chamber

The presidential role of directing the armed forces, while Congress retains powers such as declaring war and providing military funding

A formal international agreement negotiated by the president that requires approval by two-thirds of the Senate

An international arrangement made by the president without the two-thirds Senate approval required for a treaty

Informal presidential efforts to secure voluntary congressional support through negotiation, coalition building, incentives, and political pressure

A presidential directive to executive officers or agencies based on Article II authority or authority delegated by Congress

A written statement issued when the president signs a bill that explains the president's interpretation of the law or guides its implementation

The president’s claimed authority to keep certain executive-branch communications confidential, subject to judicial and congressional limits

The Senate’s check over specified presidential nominees through approving, rejecting, or delaying confirmation; approval ordinarily requires a simple majority

The Senate’s power to approve specified presidential appointments and treaties, with treaties requiring two-thirds of senators present

The president’s Article II authority to nominate ambassadors, federal judges, and other federal officers, many subject to Senate consent

Service until death, retirement, resignation, or removal by impeachment and conviction, allowing judicial appointments to outlast a presidency

The 1973 law requiring the president to consult Congress where possible, report the introduction of forces into hostilities within 48 hours, and generally withdraw them within 60 days without authorization, with 30 additional days for withdrawal

Hamilton’s defense of a single energetic executive whose unity permits decisive action, steady administration, national protection, and clear accountability

The theory that Article II places executive power in one president who must retain authority to direct and supervise the executive branch

The 1951 amendment limiting a person to two presidential elections, or one if the person served more than two years of another’s term, allowing at most ten years in office

The constitutionally rooted presidential message to Congress that now serves as a nationally broadcast platform for reporting conditions, recommending legislation, and promoting the president’s agenda

The president’s use of the office’s prominence as a platform to attract attention, persuade the public, and promote a policy agenda

Influencing which issues receive political attention and are treated as policy priorities

Creates the Supreme Court, permits Congress to establish lower federal courts, defines federal jurisdiction, and protects judges through tenure during good behavior and undiminished compensation

Hamilton’s defense of an independent, “least dangerous” judiciary that exercises judgment and must prefer the higher authority of the Constitution to conflicting statutes

Judges’ ability to decide cases without immediate political retaliation, protected chiefly by tenure during good behavior and undiminished compensation

The power of courts to determine whether government action conforms to the Constitution and to deny legal effect to unconstitutional laws or executive actions

Supreme Court decision that invalidated part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 for conflicting with Article III, thereby establishing judicial review of federal laws

Original jurisdiction means a case begins in the Supreme Court; appellate jurisdiction means the Court reviews a lower court’s decision

An order by which the Supreme Court agrees to review a lower court’s decision, ordinarily granted when at least four justices vote to hear the case

The doctrine that courts should follow precedent when deciding cases with similar facts and legal questions—“to stand by things decided.”

A rule or principle established by an earlier judicial decision that guides later cases involving the same legal question and materially similar facts

Article III justices serve during good behavior without reelection, a fixed term, or mandatory retirement, though they may resign, retire, or be impeached and removed

An approach favoring assertive judicial review to invalidate government actions, establish new constitutional interpretations, or overturn precedent

An approach favoring limited judicial review, adherence to precedent, and deference to elected institutions unless the Constitution clearly requires intervention

Congress’s use of its Article III authority to remove categories of cases from the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction

Checks include changing statutes, amending the Constitution, appointing and confirming justices, altering the Court’s size or jurisdiction, limiting implementation, and impeaching and removing judges

The departments, agencies, commissions, government corporations, and employees that administer federal law and carry out federal policy

One of the 15 major executive-branch organizations responsible for a broad area of public policy and headed by a secretary or the attorney general

An executive agency outside the Cabinet departments, usually created to perform a narrower or more specialized mission

An agency led by a multimember body with fixed terms that regulates a particular economic sector or area of public activity with some insulation from immediate political pressure

A publicly created organization that pursues a public purpose by providing services in a businesslike manner, often charging fees or generating revenue

Turning laws and executive directives into operational rules, programs, services, and enforcement actions

A detailed agency rule, issued under authority granted by law, that has the force of law once validly adopted

A durable, mutually beneficial relationship among a congressional committee or subcommittee, a bureaucratic agency, and an interest group in one policy area

A broad, loose, and often temporary coalition of changing participants connected by a shared policy issue or agenda

The primarily civilian, career workforce that performs the continuing work of the federal government across presidential administrations

Hiring and promotion based primarily on qualifications, professionalism, specialization, neutrality, and job performance rather than partisan loyalty

The distribution of government jobs based on political support, party loyalty, or personal connections

The law that began the shift from federal patronage to merit-based employment by creating a civil service commission and competitive examinations for covered jobs

An agency’s freedom to choose among legally permissible methods of interpreting and implementing policy

Power granted by Congress that permits an administrative agency to choose among legally permissible ways of interpreting and implementing policy

Delegated agency power to issue binding regulations that implement, interpret, or enforce a statute

The executive agency that implements federal environmental laws through scientific standards, regulations, monitoring, and enforcement

The independent regulatory commission that administers and enforces federal campaign-finance law, not the casting or counting of votes

The independent regulatory commission that administers securities laws, regulates markets, requires disclosures, and enforces its rules

A formal committee session in which witnesses testify and answer questions to investigate bureaucratic activity and create a public record

Checking whether laws and regulations are followed and federal funds are properly used, a process that can also add costs, paperwork, and delays

The president’s direction of executive agencies through appointments, directives, OMB review, budget proposals, and political supervision so implementation reflects the administration’s lawful goals

Congress controls agencies through oversight, investigations, legislation, confirmations, and its authority to appropriate, restrict, or withhold funds

Federal courts review agency actions and may invalidate those that violate the Constitution, exceed statutory authority, or fail to follow required procedures

Distinct institutions and stages through which stakeholders can influence policy, including Congress, executive agencies, and the courts