AP Government
Unit 3
Chapter 10 Vocabulary
constituents: the residents of a congressional district or state
reapportionment: the assigning by congress of congressional seats after each census. state legislatures reapportion state legislative districts
redistricting: the redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population
gerrymandering: the drawing of legislative district boundaries to benefit a party, group, or incumbent. there are two types of gerrymandering—cracking, which the majority party uses to break a strong minority party district into pieces to be merged with other districts, thereby reducing the minority party’s strength in that one district, and packing, which merges pieces of the majority party in its weak districts into a single, strong district
safe seat: an elected office that is predictably won by one party or the other, so the success of that party’s candidate is almost taken for granted
incumbent: the current holder of elected office
earmarks: special spending projects that are set aside on behalf of individual members of congress for their constituents
bicameralism: the principle of a two-house legislature
enumerated powers: the powers explicitly given to congress in the constitution
speaker: the presiding officer in the house of representatives, formally elected by the house but selected by the majority party
party caucus: a meeting of the members of a party in a legislative chamber to select party leaders and to develop party policy
majority leader: the legislative leader selected by the majority party who helps plan party strategy, confers with other party leaders, and tries to keep members of the party in line
minority leader: the legislative leader selected by the minority party as spokesperson for the opposition
whip: the party leader who is the liaison between the leadership and the rank-and-file in the legislature
closed rule: a procedural rule in the house of representatives that prohibits any amendments to bills or provides that only members of the committee reporting the bill may offer amendments
open rule: a procedural rule in the house of representatives that permits floor amendments within the overall time allocated to the bill
president pro tempore: an officer of the senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president
filibuster: a procedural practice in the senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue
cloture: a procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the senate
standing committee: a permanent committee established in a legislature, usually focusing on a policy area
special or select committee: a congressional committee created for a specific purpose, sometimes to conduct an investigation
joint committee: a committee composed of members of both the house of representatives and the senate; such committees oversee the library of congress and conduct investigations
seniority rule: a legislative practice that assigns the chair of a committee or subcommittee to the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee
conference committee: a committee appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber to adjust differences on a particular bill passed by each in different form
discharge petition: a petition that, if signed by a majority of the members of the house of representatives, will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration
rider: a provision attached to a bill—to which it may or may not be related—in order to secure its passage or defeat
pocket veto: a veto exercised by the president after congress has adjourned; if the president takes no action for ten days, the bill does not become law and is not returned to congress for a possible override
override: an action taken by congress to reverse a presidential veto, requiring a two-thirds majority in each chamber
delegate: an official who is expected to represent the view of his or her constituents even when personally holding different views; one interpretation of the role of the legislator
logrolling: mutual aid and vote trading among legislators
attentive public: citizens who follow public affairs closely
polarization: the extent to which liberals and conservatives occupy the more extreme positions on the liberal-conservative ideological spectrum
Chapter 11 Vocabulary
parliamentary government: a form of government in which the chief executive is the leader of the majority party in the legislature
electoral college: the electoral system used in electing the president and vice president, in which voters vote for electors pledged to cast their ballots for a particular party’s candidates
presidential ticket: the joint listing of the presidential and vice presidential candidates on the same ballout, as required by the twelfth amendment
vesting clause: the president’s constitutional authority to control most executive functions
treaty: a formal, public agreement between the united states and one or more nations that must be approved by two-thirds of the senate
executive agreement: a formal agreement between the US president and leaders of other nations that does not require senate approval
congressional-executive agreement: a formal agreement between the US president and the leaders of other nations that requires approval by both houses of congress
recess appointment: presidential appointment made without senate confirmation during senate recess
veto: a formal decision to reject a bill passed by congress
pocket veto: a formal decision to reject a bill passed by congress after it adjourns—if congress adjourns during the ten days that the president is allowed to sign or veto a law, the president can reject the law by taking no action at all
take care clause: the constitutional requirement (in article II, section 3) that presidents take care that the laws are faithfully executed, even if they disagree with the purpose of those laws
inherent powers: powers that grow out of the very existence of government
state of the union address: the president’s annual statement to congress and the nation
signing statements: a formal document that explains why a president is signing a particular bill into law. these statements may contain objections to the bill and promises not to implement key sections
impeachment: a formal accusation against president or another public official; the first step in removal from office
war power resolution: a resolution passed in 1973 requiring the president to give advance warning of a military attack or ask congress for a declaration of war or specific legislation
executive privilege: the right to keep executive communications confidential especially if they relate to national security
executive orders: formal orders to government or an agency or agencies as a whole that carry the force of law issued by the president to direct action by the federal bureaucracy
executive memorandum: a less powerful formal order to an agency or agencies, that does not carry the force of law, to undertake a particular course of action
impoundment: a decision by the president not to spend money appropriated by congress, now prohibited under federal law
line item veto: presidential power to strike, or remove specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the supreme court
chief of staff: the head of the white house staff
executive office of the president (eop): the cluster of presidential staff agencies that help the president carry out his or her responsibilities. currently, the office includes the office of management and budget, the council of economic advisers, and several other units
office of management and budget (omb): a presidential staff agency that serves a clearinghouse for budgetary requests and management improvements for government agencies
presidential support score: the percentage of times a president wins on key votes in congress
mandate: a president’s claim of broad public support
political capital: the amount of overall public approval that a president can use to win support for major decisions and proposals
- rally point: a rise in public approval of the president that follows a crisis as americans “rally round the flag” and the chief executive
Chapter 12 Vocabulary
bureaucracy: a form of organization that operates through impersonal, uniform regulations and procedures
bureaucrat: a negative term for describing a career government employee
department: usually the largest organization in government with the largest mission; also the highest rank in the federal hierarchy
independent stand-alone agency: a government agency that operates outside a traditional government department, but under the president’s direct control
independent regulatory commission: a government agency or commission with regulatory power whose independence is protected by congress
government corporation: a government agency that is designed like a business corporation, and is created to secure greater freedom of action flexibility for a particular program
senior executive service: established by congress in 1978 as a flexible, mobile corps of senior career executives who work closely with presidential appointees to manage government
civil service: federal employees who work for government through a competitive, not political selection process
spoils system: a system of public employment based on rewarding party loyalists and friends
patronage: the process of awarding favors to the party in power
merit system: a system of public employment in which selection and promotion depend on demonstrated performance rather than political patronage
office of personnel management (opm): an agency that administers civil service laws, and regulations
merit systems protection board: an independent agency that oversees and protects merit in the federal government personnel system
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
implementation: the process of putting a law into practice through bureaucratic regulations or spending
administrative discretion: authority given by congress to the federal bureaucracy to use reasonable judgment implementing the laws
regulation: a precise statement of how a law is implemented
rule-making process: the detailed process for drafting a regulation
federal register: the official record of what the federal bureaucracy does
uncontrollable spending: the portion of the federal budget that is spent on previously enacted programs, such as social security, that the president and congress are unwilling to cut
entitlement program: program such as unemployment insurance, disaster relief, or disability payments that provides benefits to all eligible citizens
federal reserve board: a variation of an independent regulatory agency with a chairman and board that controls the supply of money that flows through the US economy
oversight: legislative or executive review of a particular government program or organization that can be in response to a crisis of some kind or part of a routine review
central clearance: review of all executive branch testimony, reports, and draft legislation by the office of management and budget (omb) to ensure that each communication to congress is in accordance with the president’s program
public policy: a specific course of action that government take to address a problem
politics: the interaction of the people and their government, including citizens, interest groups, political parties, and the institutions of government at all levels. politics is concerned with who gets what, when, where, and how from government
policy makers: individuals and groups that make the actual choices to create a public policy
distributive policy: a public policy such as social security that provides benefits to all groups in society
redistributive policy: a policy that provides to one group of society while taking away benefits from another through policy solutions such as tax increases to pay for job training
zero-sum games: a policy that takes away benefits or money from one group to give to another
reverse distributive policy: a policy that reduces benefits for all groups, often by imposing regulations or taxes that govern everyone, rich or poor
nondecision: a decision not to move ahead with the policy process. in short, it is a decision not to decide
policy agenda: the list of issues that the federal government pays attention to
think tank: a nongovernmental organization that seeks to influence public policy through research and education
issue-attention cycle: the movement of public opinion toward public policy from initial enthusiasm for action to realization of costs and a decline in interest
incremental policy: small adjustments to existing public policies
punctuating policy: radical changes to public policy that occur only after the mobilization of large segments of society to demand action
iron triangle: a policy-making instrument composed of a tightly related alliance of a congressional committee, interest groups, and a federal department or agency
- issue network: a policy-making instrument composed of loosely related interest groups, congressional committee, presidential aides, and other parties