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ApGov v4
Mr. Sullivan's class
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Appropriation | money that Congress has allocated to be spent. |
| Appellate jurisdiction | authority of a court to hear an appeal from a lower court |
| Bureaucracy | departments, agencies, bureaus, and commissions in the executive branch of government. |
| Casework | personal work done by a member of Congress for his constituents. |
| Civil law | concerns noncriminal disputes between private parties. |
| Class action lawsuit | lawsuit brought on behalf of a class of people against a defendant, e.g., lawsuits brought by those who have suffered from smoking against tobacco companies. |
| Closed rule | Rules Committee rule that bans amendments to a bill. |
| Cloture | Senate motion to end a filibuster that requires a 3/5 vote. |
| Concurring opinion | written by a Supreme Court Justice who voted with the majority, but for different reasons. |
| Conference committee | works out a compromise between differing House-Senate versions of a bill. |
| Constituents | the people who are represented by elected officials. |
| Discharge petition | a motion to force a bill to the House floor that has been bottled up in committee. |
| Dissenting opinion | written by a Supreme Court Justice (or Justices) who express a minority viewpoint in a case. |
| Executive agreement | an agreement between the President and another head of state that, unlike a treaty, does not require Senate consent. |
| Executive privilege | The privilege of a President and his staff to withhold their "privileged" conservations from congress or the courts |
| Filibuster | Nonstop Senate debate that prevents a bill from coming to a vote. |
| Finance Committee | Senate committee that handles tax bills. |
| Franking privilege | allows members of Congress to send mail postage free. |
| Appropriations Committee | Money that congress has allocated to be spent |
| Executive order | presidential rule or regulation that has the force of law. |
| Gerrymandering | redrawing district lines to favor one party at the expense of the other. |
| Hold | Senate maneuver that allows a Senator to stop or delay consideration of a bill or presidential appointment. |
| Impeachment | House action that formally charges an official with wrongdoing. Conviction requires 2/3 vote from the Senate. |
| Impoundment | refusal of a President to spend money that has been appropriated by Congress. |
| Injunction | court order that forbids a party from performing a certain action. |
| Judicial activism | philosophy that the courts should take an active role in solving problems. |
| Judicial restraint | philosophy that the courts should defer to elected lawmakers in setting policy, and should instead focus on interpreting law rather than making law. |
| Judicial review | power of the courts to review the constitutionality of laws or government actions. |
| Legislative oversight | ongoing process of congressional monitoring of the executive branch to ensure that the latter complies with the law. |
| Legislative veto | process in which Congress overturned rules and regulations proposed by executive branch agencies. Struck down in 1983. |
| Line item veto | power of most governors (and President Clinton for only a few years) to delete or reduce funding in a bill on a line by line basis. |
| Logrolling | when two members of Congress agree to vote for each other's bill. |
| Majority opinion | written to express the majority viewpoint in a Supreme Court case. |
| Mark up | committee action to amend a proposed bill. |
| Merit system | system of hiring federal workers based upon competitive exams. |
| Open rule | House Rules Committee rule that allows amendments to a bill. |
| Original jurisdiction | authority of a court to first hear a case. |
| Patronage | power to appoint loyal party members to federal positions. |
| Pocket veto | presidential killing of a bill by inaction after Congress adjourns. |
| Political appointees | those who have received presidential appointments to office. Contrast with Civil Service employees, who receive federal jobs by competitive exams. |
| Pork barrel | wasteful congressional spending, e.g. funding for a Lawrence Welk museum in North Dakota. |
| Quorum | minimum number of members needed for the House or Senate to meet |
| Reapportionment | reallocation of House seats to the states on the basis of changes in state populations, as determined by the census. |
| Redistricting | redrawing of congressional district boundaries by the party in power of the state legislature. |
| Red tape | complex rules and procedures required by bureaucratic agencies. |
| Remand | the Supreme Court's sending of a case back to the original court in which it was heard. |
| Rider | amendment to a bill that has little to do with that bill. Also known as a nongermane amendment. |
| Rule of four | the Supreme Court will hear a case if four Justices agree to do so. |
| Rules Committee | the "traffic cop" of the House that sets the legislative calendar and issues rules for debate on a bill. |
| Senatorial courtesy | tradition in which the President consults with the senators within a state in which an appointment is to be made. |
| Seniority system | tradition in which the Senator from the majority party with the most years of service on a committee becomes the chairman of that committee. |
| Spoils system | see patronage above. |
| Standing committees | the permanent congressional committees that handle legislation. |
| Stare decisis | Latin for "let the decision stand." Supreme Court policy of following precedent in deciding cases. |
| Sunset laws | laws that automatically expire after a given time. |
| Wavs and Means Committee | House committee that handles tax bills. |
| Whistleblower | an employee who exposes unethical or illegal conduct within the federal government or one of its contractors. |
| Writ of certiorari | issued by the Supreme Court to a lower court to send up the records of a case so that it can be reviewed by the high court. |
| Writ of-habeas corpus | court order that the authorities show cause for why they are holding a prisoner in custody. Deters unlawful imprisonment. |
| Writ of mandamus | court order directing a party to perform a certain action. |
Created by:
MrSwim
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