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H. Gov't Chp 13-15
Magruder's American Gov't Book. Chapters 13-15 9Executive Branch)
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| chief of state | figurehead; ceremonial head of gov't |
| chief executive | carries out nation's laws |
| chief administrator | head of federal bureaucracy |
| chief diplomat | foreign policy |
| commander in chief | in charge of armed forces |
| chief legislator | propose laws to Congress |
| chief of party | leads his/her political party |
| chief citizen | represents American people |
| formal qualifications to be president | natural born or born to American parents; lived in US for 14 years; over 35 |
| How long is president's term and why? | 4 years- in between house and Senate terms; long enough to get something done |
| Why do some want the president to serve only 1 6 year term? | Doesn't spend last year of term simply campaigning; like judges would help avoid making decisions just to get elected |
| What did FDR do that led to an amendment? | Broke 2 term tradition put in place by Washington |
| 22nd Amendment | Term limit on president to 2 terms |
| President's pay and benefits | $400,000 per year salary. Benefits: air force one, White House, Camp David, security, generous expense allowances, best healthcare, large staff |
| What did 25th Amendment do? | Vice president succeeds president in death or disability; how to fill vacancies |
| How many presidents were once VPs? | 14 |
| How many presidents became presidents without election? | 9 |
| How are VPs picked? | To balance the ticket and to apply to the largest range of voters |
| Major duties of VP | Head of Senate- can break ties; decides presidential disability |
| Current VP (As of 11/21/11)? | Joe Biden (Delaware/Pennsylvania) |
| Why so much indecision on how to pick presidents? | Framers were against the 2 obvious solutions: Congress decides or popular vote |
| What is electoral college? | Group of people chosen from each state and District of Columbia to formally select pres and VP |
| How were presidential electors chosen? | By state as state declares fit |
| What are electors supposed to be? | The best and brightest minds |
| 2 things happen in State Primaries | Either delegates selected for parties (D) or on state preferences(R) |
| Why is date of primaries crucial? | Earlier state has more influence over results of later primaries |
| Winner-take all vs Proportional representation primary | WTA- delegates go to primary with most votes, no matter how slim the margin (R); PRP- Proportion gives delegates by percent of votes (D) |
| How are most electors chosen in most states? | Chosen by people in December |
| When are electors' votes counted? | Jan 6th in Congress |
| What is often said to be the biggest defect in the electoral college system? | Candidate who wins the most popular votes doesn't always win most electoral votes |
| How is it possible for candidate to get the most popular votes but not win the election? | Candidate could win by a landslide in big states but its the amount of states that you carry |
| Electors' loyalty to their vote | Only loyal party members are chosen as electors |
| Is it a defect for the house to decide elections? (an opinion) | Yes. It is the best way as the House is supposed to represent the direct will of the people |
| Pros of the district plan | More proportional; more people directly represented; don't have to win states |
| Cons of district plan | candidate with least popular votes could still win |
| Pros of proportional plan | Removes winner take all; allows for more 3rd parties |
| Cons of proportional plan | Hard to get to 270 with more than 2 candidates so more elections would be thrown to House; candidate with most votes could still loose |
| Pros of direct popular election | all equal votes; candidate with most votes always wins |
| Cons of direct popular election | Mob rule; no distribution among states; incentive to stuff ballots nationally so could end up in giant recounts and lawsuits |
| Nation bonus plan | Bonus electors to candidate with most popular vote |
| Pros of national bonus plan | candidate with most votes wins; dilutes power of states |
| What did Madison say about the extent of the President's power? | Executive Branch should inforce laws and that's it; president should be chosen by and accountable to the legislative branch |
| Major reasons for quick growth in Executive Power? | War and economic messes |
| What presidents had biggest role in expanding Executive power? | Wilson, FDR, Obama, Teddy Roosevelt, W. Bush Pretty much all except Coolidge and Harding |
| What is the imperial presidency? | All powerful president; take strong action without Congress |
| cons of national bonus plan | No 270 so president could win with only 80 electoral votes- not representative of whole country |
| What is ordinance power? | President may issue Executive Orders that have strength of law |
| Who does the President personally select in the Executive Branch? (9) | All military commanders, federal judges, federal dept heads, ambassadors, cabinet, diplomats, top aids, marshaals, and attorneys |
| Who can president remove from office? | Anyone he/she has appointed besides judges |
| What may limit President's power to make treaties? | Needs 2/3 vote from Senate; Congress may abrogate (repeal) any treaty |
| Executive Agreement | No congress approval; agreement between 2 heads of state |
| recognition | President can recognise or ignore another country's "sovereign" existance; normally won't recognise countries that do bad things, such as when Sadam invaded Kuwait |
| Persona non grata | President may reject another country's ambassador (XYZ Affair) |
| What is the War Powers Act and its limitations? | President can take troops over to fight without Congress's approval for 60 days; President must report to Congress within 48 hours what he/she is doing; Congress may end conflict |
| Examples of use of War Powers Act | Grenada, Panama, Bosnia, Kosovo |
| What is a line-item veto? | Bill passes but president can take out certain lines |
| Is line-item vetoing constitutional? | No. Gives president too much power over laws |
| Reprieve | Postponement of execution of a sentence |
| Clemency | Lowering severity of punishment |
| Pardon | Release from legal punishment |
| Commutation | Shorten sentence |
| Amnesty | Pardon big group |
| What 2 executive departments does the Constitution anticipate? | Military and Foreign Affairs |
| Department | Anything of Cabinet Rank |
| Agency | Any Gov't body (FBI) |
| Administration | Seperate gov't bodies (NASA) |
| Comission | Agencies charged with regulating business administration (SEC) |
| Corporation/authority | Agencies conduct business-like activities (FDIC) |
| Staff Agency | Advice and management to administration |
| Line Agency | Actually perform tasks; under staff agency |
| What is federal budget? | How much gov't is supposed to spend in a year; very detailed estimate of federal receipts and expenditures |
| When is fiscal year? | Oct 1- Sept 30 |
| Office of Management and Budget | Figure out and manage budget |
| National Security council | Military advisors to president |
| Executive Office of the President | Umbrella org staffed with many close advisors to president |
| Office of Policy Development | Establish domestic policy |
| Office of Administration | Housekeeping agency for executive branch |
| Executive Department | Cabinet dpartments; traditional units of federal administration |
| Titles of heads of executive depts? | Secretary of... (Except Judicial- Attorney General) |
| How many executive depts are there today? | 15 |
| What percentage of employees of executive depts do not work in DC? | 90% |
| What is role of Cabinet? | Highest advisors to president; oversee executive depts |
| What is basis for Cabinet's existence? | Tradition and usage |
| What are Independent Executive Agencies? | Agencies outside executive dept |
| Independent Regulatory Commissions | 10 agencies outside reach of president |
| Gov't Corporations | Like businesses (AMTRAK, FDIC, Postal Service) |
| Spoils System | Laws and appointments based on who helped get elected |
| What began civil service reform? | Garfield got shot which led to Pendleton Act |
| Pendleton Act | 1883; Merit based employment by civil service exam |
| What 2 agencies run adn oversee civil service system today? | Office of Personnel Management- clears people for various jobs; Merit Systems Protection Board- Enforce merit principles |
| How has Federal Employees Act of 1993 relaxed Hatch Act? | Federal employees may now register voters, contribute money to campaigns, may NOT collect money or advertise on the job |
| What do patronage and bipartisan mean in terms of civil service? | Agencies "strive" to recruit workers from different political backgrounds |
Created by:
rachael94
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