US Government Exam 3
What is an Independent (Stand Alone) Executive Agency?
A Government agency that operates outside a traditional government department but under the president's direct control.
What is the Hatch Act?
A federal statute barring federal employees from active participation in certain kinds of politics and protecting them from being fired on partisan grounds
What is bureaucracy?
A form of organization that operates through impersonal, uniform regulations and procedures
What is Impeachment?
A formal accusation against the president or another public official; the first step in removal from office.
What is Independent Regulatory Commission?
A government agency or commission with regulatory power whose independence is protected by Congress.
What is a government corporation?
A government agency that is designed like a business corporation, and is created to secure greater freedom of action and flexibility for a particular program.
What is a Standing Committee?
A permanent committee with the power to propose and write legislation that covers a particular subject, such as finance or appropriations
What is Iron Triangle?
A policy making instrument composed of a tightly related alliance of a congressional committee, interest groups, and a federal department or agency.
What is Going Public?
A presidential strategy of speaking directly to the American people instead of Congress as a technique for popular mobilization used by Teddy Roosevelt, President Reagan, and others is known as _______________.
What is # of representatives plus 2 Senators?
A state's Electoral Vote is determined by adding what two numbers?
What is Credit claiming, advertising, and position taking?
According to David Mayhew, Members of Congress engage in in these three activities to get reelected.
What is 5%?
According to lecture, this is the percentage of bills that become law each year, approximately.
What is 30?
According to the Constitution Senators must be at least this age.
What is a Recess Appointment?
According to the Constitution, the president has the authority to appoint someone to an executive office while the Senate is in recess.
What is 10 years (Census)?
According to the Constitution, the reapportionment of House Seats needs to take place every how many years?
Who is the Vice President of the United States?
According to the Constitution, who is the president of the U.S. Senate?
What is a Filibuster?
An effort by 41 senators to delay proceedings in the Senate and prevent a vote on a controversial bill.
What is Oversight?
An effort by Congress through hearings, investigations, and other techniques to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies by overseeing or supervising how legislation is carried out by the executive branch.
What is the Federal Register?
An official document, published every weekday that lists the new and proposed regulations of executive departments and regulatory agencies
What is casework?
Assistance provided by Members of Congress and their staff to constituents in their transactions with federal agencies and other requests.
What is Administrative Discretion?
Authority given by Congress to the federal bureaucracy to use reasonable judgment in implementing the laws.
What is Spoils?
Before the Civil Service Act of 1883 government appointments were handled on the basis of the _______ system.
What is the House of Representatives?
Bills of Revenue (Tax and Spending) must originate here, according to the Constitution.
What is Congress?
Confirming presidential appointees to key positions in the federal bureaucracy in one way __________ controls the bureaucracy.
What is the power to influence budgets?
Congress and the President share this power over agencies and departments in the federal bureaucracy.
AMTRAK is this type of government agency
Government Corporation?
What is Bureaucratic Culture?
Includes the idea that bureaucratic agencies seek perpetuity through budgeting and assume their agency is essential to the operation of government.
NASA and the CIA are this type of government agency
Independent Executive (Stand Alone) agencies?
What is a 2/3 vote?
Members of the House and Senate can override a presidential veto with this fraction of the vote in each house.
What is the Treasury Department?
Of Agriculture, Interior, Commerce, and Treasury, this was one of the first executive branch departments in the United States.
What is the Civil Service Merit System?
President James Garfield's assassination in 1881 and the Pendleton Act of 1883 led to the creation of the ______ _______ _________ System.
What is a Bill?
Proposed law that has been sponsored by a member of Congress and submitted to the clerk of House or Senate
What is Appointed/Senate?
Senior officers in the federal bureaucracy are ________ by the president and confirmed by the ___________.
What are earmarks/Pork Barrel Spending?
Special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of Congress for their constituents. Bring Home the Bacon!
What is a Pardon?
The Constitutional Power of the president to grant reprieves to people convicted of crimes against the United States
What is Article 2, Section 1?
The Electoral College is found here in the US Constitution.
What is Veto?
The Formal constitutional power of the president to reject bills passed by Congress
What is Cabinet?
The Secretary of State is part of the president's_________.
What is Finding their decisions unconstitutional?
The Supreme Court exercises control over the decisions of agencies and departments in the federal bureaucracy by. .
What is the Federal Reserve Board?
The ________ is the independent regulatory agency that sets interest rates on treasury notes.
What is the Cabinet?
The formal body of presidential advisors who head 14 executive departments, appointed by the president and confirmed by the president.
What is Implement Public Policies?
The main function of the departments and agencies in the federal bureaucracy is to
Who is the Speaker of the House?
The only officer of the House of Representatives specifically required in the Constitution and is elected at the beginning of each new Congress by the entire House, traditionally a member of the majority party.
What is Commander-in-Chief?
The power of the president as commander of the national military and the state national guard units (When called into service.
What is Proposing budgets or nominating federal appointees to office?
The president exercises control over agencies and departments in the federal bureaucracy by.
What is Article 2?
The president's authority is found here in the Constitution.
What is Article 1, Section 7 (Presentment clause)?
The president's authority to sign or veto legislation is found here in the Constitution
What is Executive Privilege?
The president's inherent power to withhold information from Congress and the courts
What is implementation?
The process of putting a law into practice through bureaucratic regulations or spending.
What is Redistricting?
The process of redrawing legislative election districts by state legislatures.
What is a trustee?
The representative role adopted by a member of Congress where he or she votes on what they think are the best interests of their constituents.
What is Sociological Representation?
The type of representation in which representatives have the same racial, ethnic, religious, or educational backgrounds as their constituents.
What are regulations?
These are rules created by government agencies that determine how laws are implemented.
What is Article 1?
This Article of Congress outlines the membership requirements and powers of Congress.
What is The Take Care Clause?
This Clause has been interpreted to give the president greater powers than the founders originally intended.
What is the Office of Management and Budget?
This agency counsels the president on how much money should be distributed to each government agency and reports on each agency's effectiveness
What is the House Rules Committee?
This committee only exists in the House of Representatives which determines the time limit for debate and whether or not amendments should be allowed during floor debate of a bill.
Who was Theodore Roosevelt?
This former president interpreted presidential authority as having the authority to act in the country's best interest even if the Constitution does not explicitly grant this authority.
What is The Great Depression?
This historical event gave rise to the modern institutional presidency. Hint: This happened toward the beginning of the 20th Century and many people lost their jobs!
What is a hold?
This is one tactic to signal the Senate leadership that a Senator may have objections to a bill.
What is 538?
This is the total number of Electoral votes available. Presidential candidates must win a majority, or 270 to be president.
What is The War Powers Resolution (1974)?
This law set limits on the president's ability to commit armed forces to conflict.
What is the White House Office (Staff)?
This office has greater access to the president and the most influence on the president.
What is the Senior Executive Service?
This was established by Congress in 1978 as a flexible, mobile corps of senior career executives who work closely with presidential appointees to manage government.
What is a department?
Usually the largest organization in government with the largest mission; also the highest rank in the federal hierarchy.
What is the Executive Office of the President?
What office was created in 1939 to supervise the growing federal government?
What is executive order?
When a president issues a regulation that has the effect of law it
What is Article 1 Section 5?
Which part of the Constitution states that the House and Senate need to establish their own rules of operation/organization?
What is the House of Representatives? (One vote per state delegation)
Who decides the presidency if no presidential candidate wins a majority of Electoral College Votes?
What is the Senate?
Who selects the Vice President in cases of an Electoral College Tie?
According to the Constitution, the president must meet what three requirements to hold office?
at least 35, a natural born citizen, and a resident for 14 years
