Unit #2 : Interactions Among Branches of Government

• 435 members

• representatives elected by each state, # depends on population size; advantageous for larger states

• 2-year terms

• much more formal with more rules

• 100 members (2 representatives from each state; advantageous for smaller states)

• represent states

• 6-year terms

• less formal with fewer rules

• filibuster and holds

• unanimous consent agreements

drawing of congressional districts to favor one political party or group over another

redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following a census , to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population

process of reallocating seats in the House every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census

agreement

program that provide benefits for those who

law that made racial discrimination against any group in hotels, motels, and restaurants illegal and forbade many forms of job discrimination

required government spending by permanent laws

spending set by the government through appropriations and bills (operating expenses and salaries of gov. employees)

strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation try to talk it to death, based on unlimited debate

tendency of those already holding office to win reelection due to advantages because they already hold office

privilege that allows members of Congress to mail letters and other materials to constituents postage-free

ability of Congress to override a presidential decision

office mandated by the Constitution; Speaker is chosen in practice by the majority, has both formal and informal powers, and is second in line to succeed to the presidency should that office become vacant

principal position ally of the Speaker of the House or the party's wheel horse in the Senate; responsible for scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes on behalf of the party's legislative positions

party leaders who work with the majority or minority leader to count votes beforehand and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to a bill favored by the party

Republican Party success in 1994; US midterm elections--> a net gain of 54 seats in the House and 8 seats in the Senate (led by Newt Gingrich)

determines the rules of debate for bills in the House

largest # of votes to be received by any candidate (not necessarily more than half the votes, just most of them.)

policy that describes the impact of the federal budget- taxes, spending, and borrowing- on the economy; determined by Congress and president

based on monetarism, it is the manipulation of the supply of money in private hands by which the government can control the economy

an addition or amendment added to a bill that often has no relation to the bill but that may not pass on its own merits

powers not delegated to the US by the Constitution, nor prohibited to the states are reserved to the states or the people

powers that exist for the national govt. because the govt. is sovereign

person who holds office of head of state of the US government

Securities and Exchange Commission; federal agency created during the New Deal that regulates stock fraud

any government system that provides monetary assistance to people with inadequate or no income; provides benefits

entities composed of bureaucratic agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees, which have dominated some areas of domestic policy making; have mutual dependency, in which each element provides key services, info, or policy for the others

explain differences in policy making and power in different policy sectors

communication, by someone other than a citizen acting on his own behalf, directed to a government decision maker with hope of influencing his decision

congressional committees formed when Senate and House pass a bill in different forms; party leadership appoints members from each house to iron out the differences and bring back a compromise bill

congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses

congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose (ex. Watergate investigation)

association of congressional members who advocate a political ideology, regional, ethnic, or economic interest

simple rule for picking committee chairs, lasted until 1970s, member who had served on the committee the longest and whose party controlled Congress became chair, regardless or party loyalty, mental state, or competence

legislator who uses his or her best judgement to make policy in the interests of the people

prevents filibustering and ends debate in the Senate, by a 3/5 vote of Senate

charged with reviewing and making recommendations for the gov. budgets; imposes taxes

one party controls the executive, and the other party controls one or both houses of Congress

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, replaced Aid to Dependent Children, ended welfare programs

federal and state funded program that provides healthcare for the needy

groups and interests that support a political party

Congress' monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through hearings

allows Senate to constrain President's powers of appointment and treaty making

creates US federal budget, controlled by Congressional Budget Office

gov. spending for localized projects to bring $$ to a representative district; legislation giving benefits to constituents through sometimes unnecessary or unwise projects within a state or district, to enhance a members chance of reelection

elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests

elections to select party nominees in which voters are presented with a list of candidates from all parties; voters can then select some Democrats and Republicans if they choose

activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals; cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get

high-ranking senator of the majority party who presides over the US Senate in the absence of the Vice President

only 100 Senators, easier to make decisions on bills, easier to organize, need to pass bills to go through legislation process

435 reps--> harder to organize, has more formal rules in order to control more people, bills can only be discussed for a certain period of time, only popular bills will be discussed

exchange of political favors for support of a bill (vote 4 mine and i’ll vote 4 your’s)

name recognition, credit claiming (office holder brought gov. projects and money into state/district), casework for constituents (office holders may have helped), constituents solve money problems in gov. and bureaucracy, more visible to constituents, media exposure, experience in campaigning, and voting record

group of private citizens whose goal is to influence and shape public policy

extensions of an interest group that contributes $$ to political campaigns

form of a PAC that is allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of $$ from corporations, unions, individuals, and associations; easy to create, independent expenditure-only committee

average voter at the local level

all forms of communication that reach a large portion of the population

gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, seen by shrinking party identification

displacement of majority party by minority party, usually during critical election period

electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded only to the candidates who came in first in their constituencies (in US, winner of popular votes of a state receives all electoral votes)

appointed by committee as head of party

distributed from national political party organization that was not regulated b y law; restricted by Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002

voter voting for all candidates, all of the same party

channels or access points through which issues and people's policy preferences get on the government's policy agenda (political parties, interest groups, and mass media)

alliance of Southern conservatives, religious, and ethnic minorities who supported the Democratic Party for 40 years

meeting of party delegates every 4 years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party's platform

electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the # of votes won in an election

only registered party members can vote

direct group involvement in electoral process; groups can help fund campaigns, provide testimony, and get members to work for candidates; some form PACs

friend of the court, interested groups may be invited to file legal briefs supporting or rejecting arguments of a case

lawsuits permitting a small # of people to sue on behalf of all other people similarly situated

problem faced by unions and other groups when people do not join because they can benefit from group's activities without officially joining; the bigger the group --> more free-rider problem

provision found in some collective bargaining agreements requiring all employees of a business to join the union within a short period (30 days) and to remain members as a condition of employment

state law forbidding requirements that workers must join a union to hold their jobs, permitted by Taft-Hartley Act of 1947

• permanent committees

• all bills are sent to them first (they edit/revise/markup bills)

• holding hearings

• congressional oversight

vote how the constituents want, even if the representative personally disagrees

sometimes trustee, sometimes delegate (goldilocks model)