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| Redrawing electoral district lines to give an advantage to a particular party or candidate |
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| The process of spreading out voters of a particular type among many districts in order to deny them a sufficiently large voting group in any particular congressional district |
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| Majority-minority districts |
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| districts drawn to ensure that a racial minority makes up the majority of voters |
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| an election in which there is no incumbent officeholder |
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| public subsidization of mail from members of congress to their constituents |
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| services performed by congress for constituents |
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| powers of the federal government specifically mentioned in the constitution |
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| article 1, section 8 of constitution AKA necessary and proper clause. gives congress the authority to make whatever laws are necessary and proper to carry out its enumerated responsibilities |
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| consisting of two houses or chambers |
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| according to edmund burke, an elected rep who acts in perfect accord with the wishes of his constituents |
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| according to burke, a rep that uses his own judgement, rather than instructions from constituents |
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| descriptive representation |
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| AKA statistical rep; means that the compostition of a representative body reflects the demographic composition of the population as a whole |
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| citizen who lives in the district of an elected offical |
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| reallocation of House seats among states, done after the national census every 10 years, to ensure that seats are held by the states in proportion to the size of their populations |
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| the redrawing of congressional districts lines within a state to ensure roughly equal proportions within each district |
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| a committed member of a party; seeing issues from the point of view of the interests of a single party |
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| projects designed to bring to the constituency jobs and public money for which members of congress can claim credit |
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| an organization of the members of a political party to the house or senate |
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| regional, ethnic, racial, or economic subgroup of legislators within the House or senate; also used to describe the party in the house and senate |
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| presiding officer of the house of representatives, elected by the vote of the house members |
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| political party member in congress charged with keeping members informed of the plans of the party leadership, counting votes before action on important issues, and rounding up party members for votes on bills |
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| relatively permanent congressional commitees that address specific areas of legislation |
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| the taking of testimony by a congressional commitee or subcommittee |
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| process of revising a bill in a committee |
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| temporary committees in congress created to conduct studies or investigations. they have no power to report bills |
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| joint committees/conference committees |
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| congressional committees with members from both house and senate |
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| principle that one attains a position on the basis of length of service |
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| the highest ranking member of the minority party on a congressional committee |
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| deferral by members of congress to the judgement of subject matter specialists; mainly on minor technical bills |
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| legislative action taken "without objection" as a way to expedite business; used to conduct much of the business of the senate |
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| tactic by which single senator can prevent action on a bill or nomination; based on implied threat of refusing to agree to unanimous consent on other senate matters or willingness to filibuster the bill or nomination |
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| parliamentary device used in the senate to prevent a bill from coming to vote by "talking it to death" made possible by the norm of unlimited death |
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| a vote to end a filibuster or a debate; requires the votes of three-fifths of the membership of the senate |
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| box in the house of representatives in which proposal bills are placed |
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| a petition signed by 218 house members to force out of committee and onto the floor for consideration a bill that has been before a committee for at least 30 days while the house is in session |
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| presidential disapproval of a bill that has been passed by both houses of congress. the presidents veto can be overriden by a two-thirds vote in each house |
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| rejection of a bill if the president takes no action on it for 10 days and congress has adjourned during that period |
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| congressional responsibility for monitoring the activites of the exectutive branch agencies and personnel to ensure conformity to federal statutes and congressional intent |
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| house action bringing formal charges against a member of the executive branch of the federal judiciary that may or may not lead to removal from office by the senate |
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| the legal doctrine that a person who is arrested must have a timely hearing before a judge |
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| annual address to the nation by the president, delivered before a joint session of congress, on the state of the nation and his legislative proposals for addressing national problems |
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| a rule or legislation issued by the president that has the force of law, based either on the constitutional powers of the presidency or on congressional statutes |
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| constitutional doctrine that propses that the exectutive branch is under the direct control of the president who has all authority necessary to control the actions of the federal bureaucracy personnel and units without interference from the other federal branches |
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| a formal internation agreement between two or more countries; in the US, requires the "advice and consent" of the senate |
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| an agreement with another country signed by the president that has the force of law, like a treaty; does not acquire senate approval; originally used for minor technical matters, now an important tool of presidential power in foreign affairs |
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| the permanent beauracracy associated with the presidency, designed to help the incumbent of the office carry out his responsibilites |
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| top advisor to the president who also manages the white house staff |
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| national security advisor |
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| a top foreign policy and defense advisor to the president who heads the national security council |
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| executive office of the president (EOP) |
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Definition
| a group of organizations that advise the president on a wide range of issus; includes the Office of Management and Budget, the National Security Council, and the Council of Economic Advisers |
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| office of management and budget (OMB) |
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Definition
| part of the executive office of the president that advises on the federal budget, domestic legislation, and regulations; helps the president prepare the annual budget request to congress and does oversight of rule making by executive branch agencies |
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| council of economic advisers (CEA) |
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| an organization in the executive office of the president, make up a small group of economists who advise on economic policy |
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| National security council (NSC) |
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| an organization in the EOP made up of officials from the State and Defense departments, CIA, and the military, who advise on foreign and security affairs |
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| control of the executive and the legislative branches by different political parties |
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| percentage of americans who approve a president's "handling of his job" |
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| totality of the departments and agencies of the executive branch of the national government |
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| generally refers to a large, hierarchal organization structured by rules and a clear chain of command, where people are selected for positions on the basis of examination or other determination of qualifications; can be in public or private sector |
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| government workers employed under the merit system; does not include political appointees |
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| federal government civilian employees, excluding political appointees |
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| generally the largest units in the executive branch, each headed by a cabinet secretary |
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| generally a subunit of a cabinet department |
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| a general name used for a subunit of a cabinet department |
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| independent executive agency |
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| report directly to the president; created to give greater control to the president in carrying out some executive function or to highlight problems (EPA) |
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| unit in the executive branch that operates like a private business but provides some public service |
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| quasi-government organization |
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| unit of government that is part public and part private |
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| independent regulatory commission |
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| an entity in the executive branch that is outside the immediate control of the president and congress that issues rules and regulations to proc the public |
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| an entity of the executive government that supports the arts or sciences and that is designed to be somewhat insulated from political interference |
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| person who works in a bureaucratic organization |
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| a method of evaluating rules and regulations by weighing their potential costs against their potential benefits to society |
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| practice of distributing government offices and contracts to the supporters of the winning party; |
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| a system in which a central government has complete powers over its constituent units or states |
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| legal authority for federal agencies to spend money from the US Treasury |
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| process of turning over certain governmental functions to the private sector |
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| overbearing bureauratic rules and procedures |
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| people who bring offical misconduct in their agencies to public attention |
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| power of the supreme court to declare actions of the other branches and levels of government unconstitutional |
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| the authority of a court to be the first to hear a patricular kind of case |
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| federal courts created by congress under the authority of Article III of the constitution |
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| groups of citizens who decide whether there is sufficient evidence to bring an indictment against accused persons |
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| juries that hear evidence and sit in judgement on charges brought in civil or criminal |
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| one who brings suit to court |
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| describing a process by which indigents may file a suit with the supreme court free of charge |
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| an announcement that the supreme court will hear a case on appeal from a lower court; its issuance requires the vote of four of the nine justices |
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| an unwritten practice that requires at least four justices of the supreme court to agree that a case warrants review with whom they formerly dealt in their offical capacity |
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| latin for "a friend of the court" describes a brief in which individuals not party to a suit may have their views heard |
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| the 12 geographical jurisdictions and one special court that hear appeals from the federal district courts |
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| courts that hear cases on appeal from other courts |
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| documents setting out the arguments in legal cases, prepared by attorneys and presented to courts |
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| the explanation of the majority's reasoning that accompanies a Supreme Court decision |
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| rulings by courts that guide judicial reasoning in subsequent cases |
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| the legal doctrine that says precedent should guide judicial decision making |
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| opinion of one or more judges who vote with the majority on a case but wish to set out different reasons for their decision |
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| the opinion of the judge or judges who are in the minority on a particular case before the supreme court |
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| political-economic doctrine that holds that government ought not interfere with the operations of the free market |
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| actions by the courts that go beyond the strict role of the judiciary as interpreter of the law and adjudicator of disputes |
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| the tradition that judicial nominations for federal district court appointments be cleared by the senior senator of the president's party from the relevant state |
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| position from which one may assert or enforce legal rights and duties |
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| a presidential claim that certain communications with subordinates may be withheld from congress and the courts |
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| separate but equal doctrine |
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| principle articulated in "Plessy v. Fergusen" (1896) that laws prescribing separate public facilities and services for nonwhite Americans are permissible if the facilites and services are equal to those provided for whites |
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| landmark rulings that have been reaffirmed by the Court over the course of many years and whose reasoning has become part of the fabric of American law |
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| an action that court determines must be taken to rectify a wrong |
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| doctrine that the courts must interpret the constitution in ways consistent with the intentions of the framers rather than in light of contemporary conditions and needs |
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| the doctrine that the provisions of the constitution have a clear meaning and that judges must stick closely to this meaning when rendering decisions |
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| case brought to force on ruling on the constitutionality of some law or executive action |
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| a suit brought on behalf of a group of people who are in a situation similar to that of the plantiffs |
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