AP Gov Unit 2 Vocab

legislation that directs specific funds to projects within districts or states.

trading of votes on legislation by members of Congress to get their earmarks passed into legislation.

efforts by Congress to ensure that executive branch agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments, as well as their officials, are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goals.

a body of voters in a given area who elect a representative or senator.

the process of determining the number of representatives for each state using census data.

states' redrawing of boundaries of electoral districts following each census.

the intentional use of redistricting to benefit a specific interest or group of voters.

drawing of district boundaries into strange shapes to benefit a political party.

a district in which voters of a minority ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district.

the leader of the House of Representatives, chosen by an election of its members.

the person who is the second in command of the House of Representatives.

a member of Congress, chosen by his or her party members, whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline.

the head of the party with the second-highest number of seats in Congress, chosen by the party's members.

the person who has the most power in the Senate and is the head of the party with the most seats.

a tactic through which an individual senator may use the right of unlimited debate to delay a motion or postpone action on a piece of legislation.

a procedure through which senators can end debate on a bill and proceed to action, provided 60 senators agree to it.

the executive branch office that assists the president in setting national spending priorities.

a program that provides benefits for those who qualify under the law, regardless of income.

spending required by existing laws that is "locked in" the budget.

spending for programs and policies at the discretion of Congress and the president.

the amount of money remaining when the government takes in more than it spends.

the shortfall when a government takes in less money than it spends.

the total amount of money owed by the federal government.

representation where members of Congress balance their choices with the interests of their constituents and parties in making decisions

the branch of government charged with putting the nation's laws into effect.

powers expressly granted in the Constitution.

powers not laid out in the Constitution but used to carry out presidential duties.

an agreement with a foreign government negotiated by the president and requiring a two-thirds vote in the Senate to ratify.

formal rejection by the president of a bill that has passed both houses of Congress.

an informal veto caused when the president chooses not to sign a bill within ten days, during a time when Congress has adjourned at the end of a session

a right claimed by presidents to keep certain conversations, records, and transcripts confidential from outside scrutiny, especially that of Congress.

written comments issued by presidents while signing a bill into law that usually consist of political statements or reasons for signing the bill but that may also include a president's interpretation of the law itself

policy directives issued by presidents that do not require congressional approval.

the process of removing a president from office, with articles of impeachment issued by a majority vote in the House of Representatives, followed by a trial in the Senate, with a two-thirds vote necessary to convict and remove.

a collection of offices within the White House organization designed mainly to provide information to the president.

presidential appeals to the public to pressure other branches of government to support his or her policies.

the branch of the federal government that interprets the laws of the nation.

the highest level of the federal judiciary, which was established in Article III of the Constitution and serves as the highest court in the nation.

the authority of a court to act as the first court to hear a case, which includes the finding of facts in the case

the authority of a court to hear and review decisions made by lower courts in that system.

argument by Alexander Hamilton that the federal judiciary would be unlikely to infringe upon rights and liberties but would serve as a check on the other two branches.

a Supreme Court decision that established judicial review over federal laws.

the authority of the Supreme Court to strike down a law or executive action if it conflicts with the Constitution.

the lowest level of the federal judiciary; these courts usually have original jurisdiction in cases that start at the federal level.

the middle level of the federal judiciary; these courts review and hear appeals from the federal district courts

a judicial decision that guides future courts in handling similar cases.

the practice of letting a previous legal decision stand.

binding Supreme Court opinions, which serve as precedent for future cases.

an opinion that agrees with the majority decision, offering different or additional reasoning, that does not serve as precedent.

an opinion that disagrees with the majority opinion and does not serve as precedent.

a philosophy of constitutional interpretation that justices should be cautious in overturning laws.

a philosophy of constitutional interpretation that justices should wield the power of judicial review, sometimes creating bold new policies.

the departments and agencies within the executive branch that carry out the laws of the nation.

an official employed within a government bureaucracy.

coordinated and mutually beneficial activities of the bureaucracy, Congress, and interest groups to achieve shared policy goals.

the power to decide how a law is implemented and to decide what Congress meant when it passed a law.

the process through which the federal bureaucracy makes rules that have the force of law, to carry out the laws passed by Congress.

when the federal bureaucracy settles disputes between parties that arise over the implementation of federal laws or determines which individuals or groups are covered under a regulation or program.