Combo with "Political Science #2" and 4 others

Why is Congress called the "First Branch"?

Because the constitution lays out the powers in article 1

Plurality electoral systems

"winner-take-all" system; each party selects a candidate to run for each district post. the person that wins the most votes gets the position, even if they do not receive the majority of votes in the district

One must be ________ years of age to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, and ________ years of age to serve in the U.S. Senate

25; 30

Qualifications to be US President

35 years old (or older), natural born U.S citizen and has lived in the states for at least 14 years

There are currently ________ voting members of the U.S. House of Representatives and ________ voting members of the U.S. Senate.

435; 100

Congress has formally declared war ________ times in U.S. history.

5

Committees kill more than________ percent of the bills submitted in Congress.

90 percent

Trustee

A legislator who acts according to her or his conscience and the broad interests of the entire society.

Delegate

A person appointed or elected to represent others

Cloture

A procedure used in the senate to limit debate on a bill (end a filibuster); requires 60 votes.

Conference Committee

A special joint committee appointed to reconcile differences when bills pass the two chambers of Congress in different forms.

Biennial Budget

A spending plan that covers 2 years.

War Powers Act

Act that grants emergency executive powers to president to run war effort

Speaker of the House (what does he/she do and also who is the current one)

Active in developing the party's positions on issues and in persuading party members in the House to support them. He/she cannot require party members to support the party's program, they look to the Speaker for leadership. The Speaker also has certain formal powers, including the right to speak first during House debate on legislation and the power to recognize members—that is, to grant them permission to speak from the floor.( John Boehner)

Impeachment

An action by the House of Representatives to accuse the president, vice president, or other civil officers of the United States of committing "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Logrolling

An agreement by two or more lawmakers to support each other's bills

Proportional Representation Electoral System

An electoral system used throughout most of Europe that awards legislative seats to political parties in proportion to the number of votes won in an election.

Plural executive in Texas

An executive branch with power divided among several independent officers and a weak chief executive

Line item Veto

An executive's ability to block a particular provision in a bill passed by the legislature.

House Rules Committee

An institution unique to the House of Representatives that reviews all bills (except revenue, budget, and appropriations bills) coming from a House committee before they go to the full House.

In 2007, about one-third of Texas legislators practice what profession?

Attorney

Single Member District Plurality System

Electoral district from which one person is chosen by the voters for each elected office

Royal Assent

Final approval by the crown to an act of parliament

Congruent Federalism

each of the sub-units is essentially a smaller replica of the whole.

Texas senators' terms consist of how many years?

Four

Divided Government

Governance divided between the parties, as when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress.

Party Caucuses

Groups within congress of members who share the same interests

Texas senators have "overlapping terms." What does this mean?

Half the membership is elected every two years.

Why did Representative Tom DeLay lose his post as House majority leader?

He was implicated in a scandal involving campaign donations from lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Incumbency

Holding a political office for which one is running

Senate Party Whips

Information Channels Richard Durbin D John Cornyn R

Know all of the features of the House and Senate (i.e. number of members in each house, the length of their terms of office, the constituencies they represent etc)

House:435 Representatives, 2 year terms, Formal and Conflictual,Specialist, Tax Policy Senate: 100 Senators,Relaxed Consensus,Generalist,Foreign Policy

Head of Government vs. Head of State

In the U.S., the president takes on both roles: in other countries divided by the prime minister and president.

President Pro tem of the Senate (what does he/she do an also who is the current one)

In the absence of the vice president, the president pro tempore (temporary president) has the right to preside over the Senate.By tradition, the majority party's most senior member serves as president pro tempore. (Patrick Leahy)

The most fully organized interests are those that have which of the following as their primary purpose?

economic activity

Perils of Presidentialism

Juan Linz Promotes zero-sum politics,extremism,potential for unrepresentativeness and permanent exclusion of minorities,temptation for dictatorship,divided government.

42) Why have a Presidency?

Lawmakers should not be law enforcers and laws need perpetual execution and oversight.

Safe seats

Legislative districts that regularly remain in the hands of the same candidate or party.

Which of the following is NOT true of the British Legislative process?

Like the US Congress, British committees can terminate/end legislation

Advantages of Proportional Representation

Maximization of representation and potential for long term stability Strong parties and programatic alternatives Higher sense of voter efficacy and higher voter turnout

Disadvantages of Single Member

May exclude large portions of electorate (wasted vote) Weakens parties Lower voter turnout

Constitutional Powers of US President

Mentioned in article 2 of the constitution, include being chief diplomat,legislator,commander in chief,chief of state.

President's national vs partisan constituencies

National-President's unique political asset, Problem is that voters hold the President responsible. Partisan- Keep support of those who work in and finance their campaigns

Advantages of Single Member

Political Moderation Reduces number of parties = government stability Promotes constituency service of Representatives

Congressional Budget Office

Provides economic data to congress

Disadvantages of Proportional Representation

Requires coalition government May let in nuts Provides no incentive for moderation Leads to government instability Eliminates connection between voter and representative (Less sense of constituency service among representatives)

Defining the conditions and scheduling a bill for floor debate in the House of Representatives is the responsibility of the

Rules Committee.

What are the three levels of importance of house committees—which are the three most powerful?

Rules,Appropriations,Ways and Means (Top,Second and Third Level)

Multiple Referral of a Bill

Sending a bill to be considered by more than one committee.

Powers of the Texas Governor

Signing or vetoing bills passed by the Legislature. Serving as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. Special sessions of the Legislature for specific purposes. Estimating of the amounts of money required to be raised by taxation. Recommending a budget for the next two years. Declaring special elections to fill vacancies in certain elected offices. Appointing qualified Texans to state offices that carry out the laws and direct the policies of state government. Some of these offices are filled by appointment only. Others are ordinarily elected by the people, but the governor must occasionally appoint individuals to fill vacancies. The governor also appoints Texans to a wide range of advisory bodies and task forces that assist him with specific issues.

What are the criticisms of Congress

Take a long time and are inefficient

Filibuster

Technique used to delay legislation used in US senate.

Imperial Presidency

Term used to describe a president as an "emperor" who acts without consulting Congress or acts in secrecy to evade or deceive congress

Compared to other states' legislatures, how does the Texas legislature rank in terms of constituents per legislator?

Texas has a relatively small number of constituents per legislator.

Which of the following is true of the vice presidency?

The Constitution assigns no executive authority to the vice president.

Third Reading

The House of Commons has a chance to accept or reject the changes to the bill before passing it on to the Senate.

House Ways and Means Committee

The House of Representatives committee that, along with the Senate Finance Committee, writes the tax codes, subject to the approval of Congress as a whole.

Presidential Honeymoon period

The first 100 days that the president is in office

The organizational culture of the House of Representatives vs. the organizational culture of the Senate

The house is more conflictual and the senate is more relaxed

The Power to Inform and Persuade

The president has this power, can use media to increse this power.

Second Reading

The second presentation of a bill in a legislature (to approve its general principles [Britain] or to discuss a committee's report and take a vote (US)

Which one of the following statements about the seniority principle is most accurate?

The seniority principle is based on the length of time the member has spent in Congress.

Which of the following is true of the president's veto power?

The veto is as much a sign of presidential weakness as of strength, because it arises when Congress refuses to accept the president's ideas.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

This gave the president authority to take "all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the United States."

British Parliament: First Reading

This is a formality; no vote occurs. The Bill is presented and ordered to be printed and, in the case of private members' bills, a date is set for second reading.

House Majority Leader ((what does he/she do an also who is the current one)

Typically sets the floor agenda and oversees the committee chairmen. (Eric Cantor R)

Which of the following is NOT true of countries that use proportional representation electoral systems?

Voters tend to vote strategically, selecting their second as opposed to first choices

Economist Mancur Olson concluded that groups

exercise too much power in the American system.

An interest group that focuses on policy benefits for senior citizens would be an example of

a single issue group

A basic reason for the existence of so many interest groups in the United States is

a. the American tradition of free association. b. the extent of diverse interests in American society. c. America's federal system of government. d. the separation of powers in American government.

The Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

allows corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited funds on campaigns.

Incongruent Federalism

exists when the demographic makeup of territorial units differs among the units and the country as a whole

The Texas legislature is

bicameral

Some groups pursue collective goods. A collective good is one that

cannot be selectively granted or denied to individuals; it must be shared.

When the House and Senate pass different versions of a bill, the differences are resolved by a

conference committee.

Congressional staffers spend most of their time on

constituency service and public relations.

Most democracies

have parliamentary systems

Compared with the Senate majority leader, the Speaker of the House has more power because

he House places more limits on debate. the House is the larger chamber in terms of membership. the House has less of a tradition as a chamber of equals. the Speaker is that chamber's presiding officer.

Senate Minority Leader (what does he/she do an also who is the current one)

he main function of the Majority and Minority Whips is to gather votes on major issues. (Mitch McConnel R)

Senate Majority leader (what does he/she do an also who is the current one)

heads the majority-party caucus. Senate majority leader formulates the majority party's legislative agenda and encourages party members to support it. Like the Speaker, the Senate majority leader chairs the party's policy committee and acts as the party's voice in the chamber. The majority leader is assisted by the majority whip, who sees to it that members know when important votes are scheduled. The minority party in the Senate also has its leaders. The minority leader and minority whip have roles comparable to those of their House counterparts. ( Harry Reid D)

The War Powers Act was enacted in order to

limit the president's war-making power.

House Minority Leader

serves as floor leader of the "loyal opposition," and is the minority counterpart to the Speaker. (Nancy Pelosi)

Bills are formally introduced in Congress by

members of congress only

Requirements to serve in the Texas Senate

must be citizens of the United States, qualified Texas voters, and residents of the districts they represent for one year immediately preceding a general election, to serve in the Senate, a person must be at least 26.

Requirements to serve in the Texas House of Representatives

must be citizens of the United States, qualified Texas voters, and residents of the districts they represent for one year immediately preceding a general election.must have resided in Texas for two years before being elected,a person must be at least 21 years of age

While Democrats have a party caucus, Republicans have a

party conference

The theory that society's interests are most effectively represented through group action is

pluralist theory

Inherent executive powers

presidential authority inherent in the executive branch of government, although not specifically mentioned in the constitution

For a bill to pass in either chamber of Congress, it must

receive the support of two-thirds of its members.

Congressional Select Committees

temporary committees appointed to deal with a specific issue or problem

In Beyond Ideology, political scientist Frances Lee shows that

the congressional agenda is increasingly shaped by policy priorities rather than partisan consideration.

The situation in which individuals are tempted not to contribute to a cause because they will get the benefits even if they do not participate is called

the free rider program

Why have issue networks become more prevalent than iron triangles?

the increasing complexity of policy problems

A purposive incentive is defined as

the opportunity to contribute to a worthy goal or purpose.

The second most powerful federal official (after the president) is often said to be

the speaker of the house

Citizens' interest groups are distinguished from economic interest groups by the fact that

their members receive no direct economic benefit from attainment of the group's goals.

Congressional Standing Committees

they have legislative jurisdiction, standing committees consider bills and issues and recommend measures for consideration by their respective chambers.

What were some of the reforms introduced in the democratic party caucus in the 1970s that injected more democracy into the committee system?

took away the authority of committee chairmen to create subcommittees, appoint their chairs and members, and determine their jurisdictions

According to James Madison, the source of most factions is the

unequal distribution of property.

In order to overcome the free-rider problem, non-economic groups have

used Internet resources and computer-assisted mailing lists to target potential donors.