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American Gov Final

American Government Final Exam (2nd half of semester)

QuestionAnswer
How many members of the house are there? 435
How many members of the senate are there? 100
Senates represents _ and more _ compared to the House Larger, diverse constituencies
Members of Congress need to be _ with their constituents. Responsive
What are the 4 concentric circles? Geographic, reelection, primary, personal
How many years are house terms? 2
How many years are senate terms? 6
Age limit for house 25
Age limit for senate 30
How long do you have to be a US citizen for house? 7 years
How long do you have to be a US citizen for senate? 9 years
The house is elected by the people of the district
The senate is elected by the people of the state
Powers of congress Impose taxes, print/borrow money, regulate interstate commerce, authorize wars, confirm nominees, and ratify treaties.
The House is intended to represent The people
The senate is intended to act as a The senate is intended to act as a
In redistricting, _ have the authority to draw lines states
What is gerrymandering? Drawing legislative districts in such a way as to give one political party a disproportionately large share of seats for the share of votes its candidates wins
Delegate A representative who acts and votes according to the preferences of his or her constituency
Trustee A representative who votes based on what he or she thinks is best for his or her constituency
Substantive representation Representatives who act for and in the best interest of their constituents
Descriptive representation Representatives who share the same characteristics as those they represent
Symbolic representation Representatives who "stand for" the people they represent and are accepted, therefore, as legitimate representatives
Promissory representation Promises during elections, elected to enact those promises.
Anticipatory representation Elected or reelected based on prior record
Gyroscopic representation Elected based on evaluations of quality
Surrogate representation Based on appeal/support from those outside their district
In the 19th century,, congressional campaigning was more _ Party-Centered (Parties provide voters with ballots)
In the 20th century, Changes in laws around turn of 20th century led to _ Ticket splitting (Primary elections began to open to regular voters. Private ballots became the norm)
How are representatives agents? Focus on local issues, obtain key committee assignments, engage in casework, help constituents apply for federal benefits, and assist with immigration cases
1960-2010 marked major split-ticket voting with large _ advantage large incumbency
Why large incumbency? Candidates emphasize individual character, pork barrel projects for the district, ability to raise large amounts of money, increases in staff size to help constituents, name recognition
Incumbency advantage often inflated due to dropouts
Geographical sorting equates to Fewer marginal seats
Increased polarization at the national level means Party “brands” are more consistent across country ("Democrat” used to have different meaning in the South vs. the North)
Now, partisanship is equal to Identity, not policy
The six problems with legislative organization Need for Information, coordination problems, resolving conflicts, collective action, transaction costs, time pressures
What is need for information? Legislators often not policy experts
What are solutions for information-shortage? Division of labor and specialization, staff for the members themselves, guidance from party leadership
What are coordination problems? The greater the size of the legislative body, the harder it is to coordinate
What are solutions for coordination problems? Conformity costs (house has tremendous power, senate's power is more diffused)
What do resolving conflicts do? Compromise a part of a legislator’s job
How do resolving conflicts occur? Some rules facilitate conflict resolution, political parties serve as ready-made coalitions, not all rules facilitate conflict resolution
What does collective action do? Members have a lot of different goals: Re-election, pet projects, expertise in a particular area. serving one of their core, constituencies
What do the goals of collective action do? Set up prisoners’ dilemmas
What are transaction costs? Building coalitions can be costly. Rules pertaining to the legislative process get around these costs
What kind of rules have been set by transaction costs? Specifies how a bill can be debated and amended
What are the norms/precedents of transaction costs? Which committee bills are assigned to, how the committee markup is conducted
What are time pressures? Congress has limited time to do a lot, budgets are supposed to be approved each year, appropriations bills pass or shutdown ensues. These have grown as the scope of the government has grown.
What are the solutions to time pressures? Limiting debate, the filibuster
Institutions that organize congress The parties and committees
Parties in the house are essential units of governing
Leadership in parties in the house are determined by The Republican Conference/Democratic Caucus
Speaker of the house Leader of the majority party, has the most influence, both parties have whips and deputy whips (in charge of specific issue areas)
Majority leader Elected by the majority party; second in leadership after the speaker
Minority leader Leader of the minority party
Whip Coordinates the party’s legislative strategy, builds support for the leadership’s agenda, and counts votes
The vice president is President of the Senate, casts tie-breaking votes
_ is president of the senate in absence of VP President pro tempore
Real power in the senate lies with the Majority leader and minority leader
The majority leader and minority leader control Senate’s calendar and agenda for legislation
_ has greater power in the Senate than House Minority party
Unanimous consent agreements A unanimous resolution in the Senate restricting debate and limiting amendments to bills on the floor
Rule 22 Debate can be limited with a vote (created in 1917)
Prior to 1917 no rules were needed to limit debate
_ determines committee assignments Party Leadership
What are the 4 system comprises Standing committees, select committees, joint committees, conference committees
Standing committees permanent committees with the power to propose and write legislation (Covers a particular subject matter, broken into subcommittees, conduct hearings, launch investigations)
Select committees Temporary legislative committees set up to highlight or investigate a particular issue (Hold hearings to investigate particular problems, bring attention to issues that fall outside the jurisdictions of existing committees)
Joint committees Members of both the House and Senate (Permanent committees, but cannot present legislation to congress; they gather information and cover internal congressional issues)
Four joint committees Economic, taxation, library, printing
Conference committees Compromise on House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation (same wording of the bill must be passed by both chambers of Congress, conference committee writes final version, members appointed by House Speaker and Senate presiding office)
Republicans have _ for committees term limits
In regards to committees, Democrats Respect seniority, but have work-arounds
What are the Democrat's work arounds for seniority in committees Multiple referrals (dilutes the power of any one committee) and party leadership (can send bills straight to the Committee of the Whole)
The money committee in the house Handles revenues (way and means) and spending (appropriations)
The money committee in the senate Handles revenues (finances) and spending (appropriations)
Government spending takes part in two steps Authorizing (Budgeting for it) and appropriating (Actually spending it)
Budget committees have Little power, since appropriations don’t have to follow budget
Entitlements A benefit every eligible person has a legal right to receive that cannot be taken away without a change in legislation or due process in court
Money committees have _ power over entitlements Little
A bill is proposed by being _ by a member and submitted to the _ Sponsored, House/Senate clerk
Once a bill is submitted it is Referred to committee by party leadership or parliamentarian
Committee Markup Sessions in which committees rewrite legislation to incorporate changes
A full committee may accept recommendations of subcommittee or hold their own hearings
A subcommittee may hold hearings, listen to testimony, and amend bill, or they may do nothing, and the bill dies
Open rule in the house All amendments allowed
Restricted rule in the house Only some types of amendments allowed
Closed rule in the house No amendments allowed
Bill’s _and _ control the time Sponsor, leading opponent
Committees vote to Send a bill to the floor for debate
Filibuster Tactic to prevent action by holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down
Cloture Procedure to end the filibuster, requires approval of 60% of Senate
Tools outside of a filibuster the senate can use to prevent action Propose unlimited amendments, look for poison pills to kill a bill, put “holds” on bills
When a bill is passed with different wording in the two chambers It goes to a conference committee (appointed by party leadership) and conference committee reconciles the two bills
President has 10 days to either _ or _ a bill Sign, veto
vetoes can be overridden by 2/3 majority in each chamber
pocket veto president does not act but the legislative session ends
Why pocket veto? Public relations
Ways to short-circuit “Regular Order” Closed rules, multiple referrals, omnibus legislation
In Old-School presidency the power of the president is _ Weak
President has some leeway on matters of Foreign policy and war
In the 19th century, the president Served advisory role domestically
In Old-School Presidency, _ did the main work Cabinet secretaries
Cabinets are confirmed by Congress
Cabinet members have their own Ambitions/agendas
In Old-School Presidency the president primarily served as the Head of parties
During Old-School Presidency, parties liked _ suits with broad, national appeal Empty
Why have we evolved into the New School Presidency? Federal government has grown in scope
In New School Presidency, Congress Delegates power to president
What happens when the party out of the White House controls Congress? More investigations, executive privilege, executive orders, more oversight, more gridlock, more “going public”
Five authorities and powers of the president Commander in Chief, Head of State, Chief Executive, Chief Legislator, and Going Public
Commander in Chief Originally the main job (Framers wanted government strong enough to defend the homeland)
Head of State Presidents in charge of foreign policy (can sidestep congress through executive orders and choose to recognize the governments of other countries or not)
Chief Executive President gets to appoint “principal” members of the administration and “inferior”
As chief executive, the president can gain power through Delegation, unilateral action, claiming emergency powers, and budgeting
President as a Legislator Maintains relationships in Congress (often through favors), serve as a focal point, being the leader of the party, using the veto
The president uses vetoes more during Divided government
What is more common than vetoes? Veto threats
What approach forces presidents to make threats? "Take it or leave it"
Presidents may veto, and then blame Congress
Due to political polarization, overrides are Rare
Signing statements Outlines a president’s thinking about a bill, can be used by judges when interpreting the intent of a law, may also be used to justify not enforcing portion of a law
Signing statements are of _ legal standing Dubious
Unilateral Action Not technically legislation, thus the president can do it
Executive Orders Directive to an executive agency establishing new policies or indicating how policies should be carried out
Presidential Memorandum Directive to alter administration policies
What are ways in which a president goes public? Promoting policies, promoting their accomplishments, promoting their qualities as leaders
How do presidents go public? State of the Union, primetime addresses to the nation, social media, whistlestop tours of the country
Whether “going public” works is Contested
Presidents normally have a _ during the first 100 days Honeymoon phase
_ _ leads to lower poll numbers Negativity bias
“Rally-around-the-flag effect” Presidents serve as focal point during crises and is rewarded for reacting to threats
As Congress delegated more presidency grew
Purpose of presidential agencies Shadow agencies, supports the president without taking credit, coordinates between legislative and executive branch
The Executive Office of the President originally housed _ presidential agencies. 5
Why are there so many White House employees now? Role of president expanded, and going public has become more central to the presidency
What type of person wants to work at the White House? Professional climbers, people who want to be close to power, people with a constituency, people with their own policy agenda
Both the White House and Congress have a Revolving door problem
Judicial Review The authority of a court to declare legislative and executive acts unconstitutional and therefore invalid. Major source of legislative authority
Bureaucracy A complex structure of offices, tasks, and rules in which employees have specific responsibilities and work with a hierarchy of authority.
Red tape Excessive paperwork leading to bureaucratic delay
Government bureaucracies are charged with Implementing policy
Purpose of the bureaucracy Expertise, consistency, manpower
Who hires/fires appointments? Constitution clear on the hiring, nominated by president, confirmed by senate, firing not outlined in constitution
Vital offices in early bureaucracy Treasury, foreign affairs, war, attorney general
Division of oversight in bureaucracy Presidents appoint senior offices, require senate approval, congressional creates offices
Examples of corruption Exclusionary hiring practices, respectability lineage dominated, heavy fines for corruption
Democratizing the bureaucracy leads to... Greater bureaucratization, greater democratization, more corruption
Examples of civil service reform Push to protect people from being fired for partisan reasons, rotational offices, issues with of professionalization of bureaucracy
Effects of Pendleton Act Merit system, from 10%-80% of employees, created standard higher procedures, less corruption, less responsive
Why was bureaucracy expanded? Less power for presidents/congress
Effects of bureaucracy being expanded? Large scale administrative demands, exploit expertise, avoid blame, establish stable policies, remove politics as a barrier to coordination
Characteristics of the cabinet Matters for competition over resources/prestige, largely symbolic, presidents rely on cabinet for advice, in line of succession in the order of their creation.
Characteristics of independent executive agencies Authorized by congress/president outside departments, normally to avoid political/bureaucratic slowness.
Characteristics of independent government corporations When government provides good/services to population, act like a private corporation, less incentive to make a profit.
Effects of indirect administration Government spending has gone up, number of employees has not gone up, many private industries rely on federal money (military, teachers, etc)
Who are the bureaucrats? Mostly normal people who reflect the American population
Characteristics of professionalized agencies long term work leads to bureaucratic culture, departments want autonomy to avoid being embroiled in partisan politics, more professionalism/expertise, can limit coordination/cooperation
Characteristics of bureaucrats as politicians Resources scarce, departments/agencies build relationship with constituencies
Department of commerce is the Chamber of commerce
Department of defense is the Military industrial complex
Bureau of prisons is the Prisoner advocacy group
How congress controls bureaucracy Delegates broad authority to agencies, little guidance on exactly how the law should be executed, may give power to presidents
What are the mechanisms for congressional oversight? Hearing and investigation, mandatory reports, legislative vetoes, committee and conference reports, limitation riders, inspectors general, government accountability
Hearing and investigation Bureaucrats called before subcommittees to defend decisions.
Mandatory reports Congress requires an agency to report on a program, legislative decisions made based on that report.
Legislative vetoes House and/or senate veto on agency proposal.
Committee and conference reports Committees outline how they expect an agency to carry out its responsibility
Limitation riders Used to block money from being spent on specific things
Inspectors general Independent offices housed in agencies that investigate those agencies
Government accountability offices Huge office that can audit programs and report directly to congress.
Other congressional tools Impose expiration dates on policies (federal register), provide more explicit details on how to do a job
Federal register Official rules with the power of law, allows agencies to create rules in absence of detailed laws, provides a clear way courts/congress challenge these rules
More explicit details on how to do a job Occurs when presidents place loyalists in key positions, congress has no trust in these loyalists, more frequent during divided government
Mechanisms for presidential oversight Appointing people to offices, firing people who do things they don't like
Office of management and budget Presidential budgets influence money agencies get, but presidents also have to keep bureaucrats happy
The courts and the bureaucracy Courts power is entirely determined by lawsuits
Agencies can be _, hold no special status in lawsuits sued
Administrative procedure act of 1946 Judicial review of administrative decisions
Iron triangle Narrowly focused subgovernments controlling policy in their domains, out of sight of oversight of the full congress, the president, and the public at large
Issue networks The alternative concept of an iron triangle. If expertise matters, then regulation will occur away from the public view
Examples of issue networks Lobbyists, think tanks, entrepreneurial legislators.
Captured agencies When an agency is controlled by the interests it is supposed to regulate, it is said to be captured
Red tape Excessive paperwork leading to bureaucratic delay
Why does the red tape exist? Controlling the principal-agent problem, ensuring equal treatment of all subjects, protects bureaucrats from accusations of corruption
What are the 3 eras of judicial review Nation vs state, regulating the national economy, civil rights and civil liberties
Nation vs state era Least active, supremacy clause, McCulloh v Maidson (states couldn't tax fed govt), Dred Scott (returned power to states)
Regulating the economy State/nation debate settled, scope of govt power unclear, originally strong protections of people to have/maintain property, corporations defined as people
Regulations under the regulating the economy era Alcohol (prohibition), when something is of "public interest", courts wishy-washy on workplace laws
What changed the regulating the economy era? New Deal/Court packing plan
Civil Rights/Liberties era Courts had more time, commerce clause litigated, elastic clause litigated, rights of individuals were new territory, courts expanded power
Only the _ court is mentioned in the constiution Supreme
The Supreme Court has the power to create Inferior courts
Where in the constitution does the Supreme Court have the power of courts? Article III
Which courts have the power judicial review Courts of appeals, district courts, and supreme court
How many courts of appeals are there? 13
How many district courts are there? 94
What is federal jurisdiction? Cases involving constitution laws, civil liberty violations, application of federal states to criminal and civil cases, cases involving citizens of a different state
When can states claim jurisdiction of federal jurisdiction? If Congress does not take action
Cases that start in federal court start at the district level
Cases can be appealed to _, then to _ Courts of Appeal, Supreme Court
States can also get to the Supreme Court if Remedies have been exhausted, if a state has violated the constitution in handling the case
Judicial decision making Workload of the judiciary is extensive, Supreme court can only hear a small fraction of cases, inferior courts have immense power
How does the supreme court decide what cases to hear? Rule of four, clerks manage the workload, justices lobby other justices to vote in favor of certain hearings
What types of cases are more likely to be heard? Resolving Lower-Court disagreement, political cases
judicial doctrine a set of rules laid out by the court to guide future decisions on similar cases, helps lower courts make decisions, provides a uniform standard for cases across the country
What 2 forms does the judicial doctrine take? Procedural doctrine and substantive doctrine
Procedural doctrine Standard operating procedures for how courts should decide cases, applies to lower courts and supreme courts
Stare decisis "Let the decision stand"
Why is stare decisis not always used? The precedent is ambiguous given facts of the case, case may involve two conflicting precedents
Who can initiate case in federal court? When they have "standing" (directly effected by issue)
When are eases moot? Case is resolved
Substantive doctrine Supreme Court is not interested in individual cases. Focused on setting broad standards.
Informed government policy going forward Miranda guidelines and abortion
What influences judge's views? Political ideology
Steps supreme court decisions the vote, majority opinion, concurring opinion, dissenting opinion
the vote, majority opinion, concurring opinion, dissenting opinion Yes, but they have checks/limited power
Checks/limited power of Supreme Court Massive caseload, no enforcement mechanism (they rely on people believing they have power), president can nominate new judges, senate can block/recommend judges, congress can change size of court
Attempts to shape the supreme court More 5-4 decisions, less "senatorial courtesy", more judges voting the way the party expected, huge influence from non-government actors
why is voting central to our founding? We withdraw authority from bad leaders through elections
What are the 3 expansion waves in voting? Suffrage for non-wealthy white men, suffrage for women, Civil Rights/Vietnam War
Rationale for suffrage for non-wealthy white men Revolutionary War
Why did black voting not significantly increase after the Civil War amendments? Jim Crow era
What DID increase black voting rates? Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act
What are the two main costs of voting? Informational costs and tangible cost
What are informational costs? Time, energy spent accumulating information
What are tangible costs? Gas to get to the polls, time off from work
Theories on why people vote Civic duty, expressive value, social bonds
Civic duty I value democracy, democracy doesn’t exist without voting
Expressive duty I value the outcome, I vote to affirm my attachment to that outcome
Individual Factors in voting Duration of time in location, Strength of partisanship, Trust in government, Age, Race, Education, Income, Gender?
Institutional Factors More onerous restrictions gone (Poll taxes/Literacy tests), Registration laws, Early voting, Mail-in ballots, Voter ID
People Don’t Vote Because... They can’t, they don’t want to, nobody asked (Campaigns, election officials, social networks)
Examples of heuristics Partisanship, social groups, salient issues, media, candidate characteristics
Salient issues some issues become very important and one candidate/party is evaluated more favorably on it
Media can shape Which issues are more salient, focus attention on some candidates more than others
Retrospective voting is shaped by Economic considerations (unemployment/prices), security, disruptions to daily life
Prospective voting is shaped by Trajectory of the economy, campaign promises
Why are campaigns the biased storytellers? They don’t need to win over everyone, engage in both persuasion and turnout
What are goals of campaign? Getting out the message, cultivating a positive candidate image, gaining media attention, attacking the opposition
public financing create greater equality but less freedom
private financing create less equality but more freedom
Hard money Raised by candidates, subject to some limits and reporting requirements
Soft money Raised by “independent” groups (ex: political parties), no reporting or limits
When does Money Matter? where there is less money
Why are their parties? Collective action requires institutions, members of Congress pursuing narrow goals would achieve nothing, parties provide an informal framework for coordination
Why do the masses participate in parties/ Voters want to influence policy outcomes, individual preferences must be aggregated, political parties simplify the range of options
What are the 3 forms of parties? Party organization, party in government, party in the electorate
Why can we not conflate party organization with partisans Members of parties may have diverging interests, members of Congress belong to parties but also have constituents to represent
Politicians vs. DNC/RNC Politicians want election, but also want policy. Party apparatus is agnostic on policy—goal is power
Purpose of Party Organizations Parties exist to win elected office, will promote politicians they despise if they see an advantage, politicians have a more complex set of goals
Party mobilization works through Developing an attractive party platform, fundraising, testing messages, persuasion, turnout
Parties as Campaign Tools Parties mobilize voters
Why is it very hard to build a coalition around each individual piece of? legislation High transaction costs, infinite number of policy options
Why do parties serve as stable legislative alliances Alliances are built out of necessity, not due to the alignment of interests, helps legislators organize to pass legislation in Congress, serves to form bonds across the three branches of government, policy negotiations occur at party level
How do Parties serve as heuristics? Parties are a cue for voters
Why does party “brand” matters Politicians need to preserve brand, unlikely to defect on policy
Features of the American Party System Two-party competition, coalition-building is an essential function of parties, fragmented party coalitions, shielding, professional politicians
Concept of shielding Electoral coalitions have many groups, groups compete with one another for influence, candidates benefit from hiding the composition of their electoral coalition from other groups
What is our current party system Weak Parties, Strong Partisanship
Parties are controlled by _ politicians
What do Modern Party Organizations do? Raise money, advertising, step in to support primary candidates based on “electability”, do research, opposition research, provide money to local/state apparatus to train volunteers,
What do Interest Groups Do? Serve as a cue-giver to followers, electioneering, lobbying
Lobbying Appeals from citizens and groups for favorable policies and decisions
Through lobbying, interest groups provide legislators... How policies are perceived by various groups, expertise on complicated policy matters
In Defense of Interest Groups Special interests now closely aligned with partisan/political system, any group can form to advocate, groups are inevitable, overreach against the public interest will incur a backlash
Why do Interest Groups Exist? Collective Action
What is the collective good of interest groups? Organizing (Increases power, Deters free-riders)
Power of special interests depend on The size/money of the group, the stake in public policy
How do interest groups avoid shirking (aka the free rider problem)? Moral incentives and selective incentives
Contemporary Interest Groups Unknown scope, represent a wide array of interests, financed by companies, rich benefactors, membership dues
Reasons for Interest Group Proliferation Success in the form of social movements, public policy, policies can create a core constituency
Interest Group Fragmentation Small groups with clear interests are better organized, narrow interest groups, groups compete
Two routes to achieving goals Insider tactics and outsider tactics
insider tactics Interest groups end up in principal-agent relationship, they must show they can get results
Results of insider tactics Get access to policymakers, insider information on bills being written, provide information to friendly legislators
Outsider Tactics Mobilizing outside of government (Think tanks, organizing protest, electioneering, litigation)
Interest Groups and Elections Both sides have Political Action Committees (PACs)
Political Action Committees (PACs) Can contribute, coordinate with campaigns. Contributions limited to $5k per candidate, $15k per party.
Super PACs Unlimited spending, not allowed to coordinate with campaigns,
What PACs Do Donate to candidates, Maintain mailing lists of followers/donors, endorse candidates, advertise, recruit candidates, GOTV
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