US Government and Politics PDF

FINAL- 12/18 Open and closed rulings in the house - Closed rules set time limits on debate and restrict the passage of amendments; open rules permit amendment from the floor of the house What congressional staffers do - Congressional staff are employees of the United States Congress or individual...

FINAL- 12/18 Open and closed rulings in the house - Closed rules set time limits on debate and restrict the passage of amendments; open rules permit amendment from the floor of the house What congressional staffers do - Congressional staff are employees of the United States Congress or individual members of Congress. Fiscal policy - Refers to Congress’s taxing and spending decisions. Monetary policy - an instrument of economic management which is based on adjustments in the amount of money in circulation. Incumbency - The holding of an office or the period during which one is held Congressional committees -The House's committees consider bills and issues and oversee agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdictions. Congressional campaign spending Filibusters - Procedural tactic whereby a minority of senators can block a bill by talking about it until other senators give in and the bill is withdrawn from consideration or changes to meet opponent’s demands. Cloture - Limits the debate to 30 hours (a way to defeat filibuster). Requires ⅗ majority vote in the Senate. Partisanship - Bais Demand side theory - Keynes’ theory emphasizes the consumer “demand” component of the supply-demand relationship. Supply side economic theory- Emphasizes the production in the supply-demand equation. Whig Theory (limited presidency theory) - 19th-century conception of the presidency, which held that the presidency is a constrained office Presidential veto- negates a law passed by congress. War powers act - The act does not prohibit the president from initiating conduct but requires the president to consult with Congress, whenever feasible, before doing so and requires the president to inform Congress within 48 hours of the reasons for the military action. Nixon vetoed but congress overruled the veto. Two presidencies theory- Wildavsky claims that presidents would prefer to focus foremost on foreign policy because they are granted more traditional, constitutional, and statutory authority when compared to their domestic policy powers. Impeachment - Congress’s Constitutional right to remove the president from office if found guilty of “Treason, Bribes, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Majority of votes from the house and ⅔ from the senate. Bully pulpit - A platform from which to influence the nation’s agenda (how the presidency was described by Theodore Roosevelt) When a president will propose a majority of his programs - Descriptors of members of congress - most have law degree, few working-class member of congress, disproportionately white and male Hargrove and Nelson's presidency - Determined there were 3 types of presidents Achievement, consolidation and preparation. Criteria: elections, grain of history, self-presentation, tactical ability, managing bureaucracy and ideas. The federal bureaucracy and how its organized - A system of organization and control based on 3 principles: hierarchical authority, job specialization, and formalized rules The middle class - The middle class is a social class of people who fall in the middle of a social hierarchy. Policy implementation - the carrying out of decisions made by Congress, the president, and the courts Neutral competence - A merit-based bureaucracy is “competent” in the sense that employees are hired and retained based on their ability, and it is “neutral” in the sense that employees are not partisan appointees and are expected to be of service to everyone, not just those that support the incumbent president. Nato membership - New members must be making progress toward a market economy. --Their military forces must be under firm civilian control. --They must be good neighbors and respect sovereignty outside their borders. --They must be working toward compatibility with NATO forces. Social insurance programs - Based on the same pay-to-be-eligible principle as insurance. Unilateralism - A situation in which a nation takes action on its own. Multilateralism - The idea that major nations should act together in response to problems and crises. Containment - A notion that soviet expansion could be stopped only by the determined use of American power. Power in the supreme court- Nation’s highest court. Opinion - Provides the legal basis for the decision. The federal court system -District courts, courts of appeals, specialty court (such as the U.S. Court of Federal Claims), and the Supreme Court. Amicus briefs - An amicus brief, or "friend-of-the-court" brief, is a written argument filed by a person or organization that is not a party to a legal case but has expertise or insight to share. The purpose of an amicus brief is to provide the court with additional information or arguments to help inform their decision.