Chapter 6 civics Study Guide

Authorization Bill

A bill that establishes a program and says how much can be spent on the program

Revenue Bill

A law for raising money

Subpoena

A legal order that a person appear or produce request documents

How does the difference in constituencies between the president and members of Congress create tension?

A president is expected to represent all of the people of the nation. Members of Congress only represent their constituents. Members of Congress are gonna have a more narrow view on an issue than the president. Lawmakers must think about what will please the voters back home. So they may disagree with the President's view.

Appropriate Bill

A proposed law to authorize spending money

Legislative Veto

A provision that congress wrote into some laws that allowed

Necessary and Proper Clause

Article 1 section 8 of the constitution which gives congress the power to make laws that are necessary and proper for carrying out its duties

How do political timetables impact the relationship between the president and the Congress?

Before any elected official faces voters for reelection. they want to show they have accomplished what the voters asked them to do. The President has no more than 8 yeas while lawmakers are not limited to 2 terms, so they have a much longer time table than the president.

The Supreme Court ruled that the line-item veto is unconstitutional because...

Congress cannot give away its constitutional powers through legislation.

While the president proposes the national budget,...

Congress must approve it.

Immunity

Freedom from prosecution for the witnesses whose testimony ties them to illegal acts

What emergency powers has Congress given to the president in time of crisis?

He can declare marshall law, seize property, and control transportation and communication.

How can partisan policies affect relations between the president and Congress?

If you have one party controlling the White House and another party controlling a the House and Senate, it is called a divided government which will lead to significant conflict between President and Congress. If you have one party controlling the Senate and the other controlling the House, you're still gonna have tension between the president and Congress.

What are the legislative veto and the line-item veto, and what part has the Supreme Court played in the use of each?

Legislative veto has been used by Congress to overturn actions by the executive branch but in 1983 the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional. In 1996, Congress provided the President with the line-item veto, which allowed specific item in spending bills and tax breaks without vetoing the entire bill. In 1998, the Supreme Court also struck down the line-item veto.

Perjury

Lying under oath

Expressed Power

Powers directly stated in the constituion

Implied Powers

Powers the government requires to carry out its expressed constitutional powers

What was accomplished by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act in 1974?

The act established a permanent budget committee for each house, set up the congressional budget office, and limited the presidents ability to impound funds or refuse to spend money, voted by Congress, for a program.

Copyright

The exclusive right to publish an sell a literacy, musical, or artistic work for a specified period of time.

Impeachment

The formal accusation of misconducting office

Line-item Veto

The power of an executive to reject one or more items in a bill without vetoing the entire bill

Impoundment

The president's refusal to spend money congress has voted to fund a program

How does the organization of Congress provide tools for the tension between Congress and the president?

The rules for procedure can be used to block legislation. The committee system may be a weapon against the president. As committee chairperson use their position to influence bills. Conflicts also occur when a committee tries to delay, revise, or defeat a proposal from the president.

How do checks and balances create tension between Congress and the president? **ESSAY QUESTION

The system of checks and balances gives Congress and the president powers that counteract each other. Bills that are passed by Congress require the presidents signature before it can become a law. The president can veto or threaten to veto a bill. Congress, to override a presidential veto, a 2/3 majority of each house is required.

National Budget

The yearly financial plan for the federal government

Interstate Commerce

Trade among the states

The lengthy and costly U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War led Congress to pass the ______ ______ Act in 1973, which requires a president to tell Congress about any decision to send troops to other countries.

War Powers

Divided Government

When one party controls the white house and the other controls the house and senate

Congress shares with state legislatures the power to propose __________________ to the Constitution.

amendments

The Senate must approve presidential _________________________ to office and must also ______________ form treaties with other nations.

appointments ratify

There is a two-step process for laws that approve the spending of money: first an _____________________ _______ establishes a program and its financial limits, and then an ________________ ______ funds the program.

authorization bill appropriations bill

The power of Congress also includes the power to ___________ money, most often by selling government ________ or notes, and to coin money.

borrow bonds

Legislative oversight is a good example of how __________ ____ __________ work as Congress makes laws, as the executive branch interprets these laws to carry them out, and as Congress checks on the executive branch's job of administering the law.

checks and balances

Through the years, the power of Congress to regulate ___________ has expanded far beyond the mere buying and selling of goods and services.

commerce

In the Civil Rights Act of 1964, what part of the Constitution is used to make discrimination in public facilities illegal?

commerce clause

Legislative oversight is an example of checks and balances because...

congress can see if the executive branch is carrying out a law as it is needed.

Since Congress must respect the __________________ ______________ of witnesses just as a court does, congressional committees may offer ___________________, or freedom from prosecution, to encourage testimony.

constitutional rights imminuty

Congressional powers also include naturalization, admitting new states, governing territories, and federal property, granting _______ and ________, and the establishment of a post office and federal courts.

copyrights patents

Alexander Hamilton stated that...

every governmental power must also include the means to carry out that power

The Constitution gives Congress stated, or _____________ powers.

expressed

An expressed power is different from an implied power because...

expressed powers are listed in the Constitution

T/F All bills are designed to raise revenue originate in the Senate

false

T/F Congress has the right to oversee the work of both the executive and the judicial branches.

false

T/F In a divided government, the legislative process typically moves more quickly than in an undivided government.

false

T/F In recent years, the president has taken more and more control over the federal budget.

false

T/F The commerce clause was created to prevent presidents from committing troops abroad without notifying Congress

false

T/F Unlike in criminal court, witnesses in congressional hearings can be forced to testify against themselves.

false

T/F When a congressional committee wants a witness to appear, it issues a legislative veto.

false

Removal of any federal official begins by _____________, or formal accusation, in the House of Reps followed by a trial in the _____________ presided over by the ________ __________ of the U.S.,with removal from office if 2/3 of the senators present vote to conflict.

impeachment senate chief justice

The Congressional Impoundment Control Act...

increased Congress's role in creating the budget.

________________ _____________ is consistently used due to a lack of staff, time, and money; lack of voter interest; vagueness of some laws; and lack of objectivity in assessing the performance of agency workers.

legislative ovesight

The ______________ __________ of Congress include taxing, spending, and regulating foreign and interstate commerce.

legislative power

Congressional use of the _____________________ _________ was declared unconstitutional in 1983 and the power to appoint a __________ ______________ has expired.

legislative veto special prosecutor

The implied powers of Congress come from the so-called elastic clause, which gives Congress the power to do whatever is "_____________ ______ ______________" to carry out its other powers.

necessary and proper

Most _____________ functions require ______________ between the Houses, but each house usually plays a distinct role in exercising these powers.

non-legislative cooperation

In a divided government, power struggles can occur because...

one party controls the White House and the other controls Congress.

How is legislative oversight typically different from congressional investigation?

oversight typically involves reviewing activities over a longer period of time.

After a two-year investigation into investment banks' role in the economic meltdown in 2008, Congress...

passed a major banking reform bill.

Legislative oversight

power of the legislative branch to review the policies, programs, and activities of the executive branch on an ongoing.

The difference between an appropriations bill and an authorization bill is that the first...

proposes to authorize money and the second actually allocates the money

One way Congress can encourage spending and business expansion is by...

reducing taxation and regulation

Congressional investigations can lead to _____________ in a government program, to officials being fired, or to ________ laws to deal with a problem.

reforms new

The Constitution states that laws for raising money, called ___________ _________, must start in the Senate.

revenue bill

The power of the purse is important in oversight because it allows Congress to...

review, and possibly modify, agency budgets

A _____________________ committee or a _________________ committee may conduct investigations.

standing select

Committees have the power to ___________________ witnesses or documents, and can prosecute witnesses who lie for __________, and old them in __________ for failure to testify of cooperate.

subpoena perjury contempt

Congress exercises oversight by requiring reports from the executive branch, through studies by congressional ____________ ________________, and through _________________ decisions on whether to expand, reduce, or eliminate programs.

support agencies budget

Patent

the exclusive right of an inventor to manufacture, use , and sell his or her inventions fro a specific period, currently 20 years

Which of the following investigations resulted in Congress finding out that one of its members had been bribed?

the investigation into the activities of lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

T/F Both Congress and the state governments can propose constitutional amendments.

true

T/F During wartime, Congress has given presidents extra powers so that they can act quickly.

true

T/F One way to decide if a news source is biased to compare reports from several sources.

true

T/F People who support the line-item veto think it could help the president control spending.

true

T/F Some congressional investigation have led to reforms in government agencies.

true

T/F Tension between the president and Congress occurs as each works to protect its powers.

true

T/F The Founders showed the importance of the legislative branch by devoting nearly half of the Constitution.

true

T/F The government is prevented from punishing someone without public trial.

true

The president can provide a check on Congress'd power to create legislation by...

vetoing a bill

Contempt

willful obstruction of justice