American Government 2305 Unit 3 Exam
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American Government 2305
Unit 3 Exam
1. Who controls the power in the Senate?
The Majority Leader and Minority Leader control the power in the Senate
2. Define Speaker of the House, majority leader, minority leader, & whip.
Speaker of the House: the chief presiding officer of the House of representatives; the Speaker
is the most important party and House leader and can influence the legislative agenda, the fate of
individual pieces of legislation, and members' positions within the House.
Majority Leader: The elected leader of the majority party in the house. Their title is subordinate
to the Speaker
Minority Leader: The elected leader of the minority party in the house.
Whip: A party member, either majority or minority responsible for coordinating the party's
legislative strategy and building support for key issues and counting votes.
3. Discuss the social composition of the U.S. Congress.
Most U.S. Representatives are Protestant, White, Older, they mostly have degrees.
4. Who is the president pro tempore?
The President Pro Tempore is primarily a ceremonial position, given to the member with the
greatest seniority
5. Define patronage & pork barrel.
Pork Barrel: A representative getting a project approved and given to local contractors to help get him/her
reelected
Patronage: A representative providing benefits to his/her district as means to get them reelected
6. Explain the roles the House & Senate have in the impeachment process.
The House of Representative decides on a vote whether the elected official ought to
be impeached and then the Senate actually votes whether or not to impeach the
official
7. Differentiate between standing, select, joint, and conference committees.
Standing Committee: A committee that is permanent and has the authority to write legislation on certain topics
and can pass bills
Select Committee: A temporary committee that is put together to investigate a certain topic (Ex: Benghazi
Committee)
Joint Committee: Legislative committee formed of both House and Senate Members Conference Committee:
joint committees created to work out a compromise on House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation
8. Why is it that the House of Representatives is given the power to be the only ones
to introduce money bills?
9. Define staff agencies & congressional caucuses.
Staff Agencies: Staffers that help legislators analyze laws and policies Congressional Caucus: associations of
members of Congress based on party, interest, or social group, such as gender or race
10. What is a filibuster and cloture?
Filibuster: Talking on and on to keep a bill from hitting the floor
Cloture: a rule or process in a legislative body aimed at ending debate on a given bill; in the U.S.
Senate, 60 senators (three-fifths) must agree in order to impose a time limit and end debate
(Think CLOSURE)
11. What is oversight?
The effort by Congress to investigate a particular federal agency by hearings, investigations.
12. Explain how Congress can override a president’s veto.
The veto power is formidable, but it is not absolute since Congress can override it by a two-
thirds vote, reflecting the framers' concern with checks and balances.
13. Article II, Section 3 deals with what?
Section 3 deals with the President's Expressed Powers
14. Discuss the following Supreme Course case: U.S. v. Nixon (1974).
President Richard Nixon was subpoenaed to release audio recordings from the Oval Office but
claimed Executive Privilege protected him from releasing them to preserve National Security.
15. Discuss the purpose and value of a vice-president.
A VP is the highest ranking individual in the Senate and is used in case of a tie
-The vice president would assume all powers of the President in the event that the President is
unable to fulfill the duties of the office
16. Provide examples of expressed powers the president has.
-
Military (provides for the power as "Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United
States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called in to the actual Service of the United
States.") (Can deploy military in times of war, ONLY CONGRESS CAN DECLARE WAR)
-Judicial (provides the power to "grant Reprieves
and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of
Impeachment.")
-Diplomatic (provides the power "by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate to make
Treaties." Article II, Section 3, provides the power to "receive Ambassadors and other public
Ministers.")
-Executive (authorizes the president to see to it that all the laws are faithfully executed; Section 2
gives the chief executive power to appoint, remove, and supervise all executive officers and to
appoint all federal judges.)
-Legislative (Gives the president authority to participate in the legislative process)
17. Discuss the Presidential Succession Act of 1947.
Is The Scheme by which a presidential Vacancy is filled. If a president dies, resigns or
is removed from office by impeachment, the VP succeeds to the office.
18. Compare an executive-congressional agreement to a sole executive agreement.
A sole executive agreement gives the President the power to make treaties with foreign
government without Congress' Advice and Consent. congressional Agreement : for this type of
agreement, the president will submit the proposal arrangement to congress for simple majority
vote in both houses, usually easier for presidents to win than the two-thirds approval of the
senate that is required for a treaty.
19. Describe the Cabinet, National Security Council, & Office of Management &
Budget.
The cabinet is a group of secretaries that run their respective department and report back to the
president
National Security Council: A foreign policy advisory council that consists of the President, Vice
President, SecDef, SecState, and other officials.
OMB: The most important office of the Executive Office of the President, they arrange the
national budget, designing the president's program.
20. After the Civil War why was it considered inappropriate for presidents to engage
in personal campaigning?
During the nineteenth century, it was perceived to be undignified for a president to campaign on
his own behalf.
21. What is meant by stating that the president is going public?
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when the President uses public opinion to persuade the Congress to follow his programs. Fact:
Clinton used this effectively against the Republicans
22. How does the first spouse help the president carry out the duties of a head of state?
He/She greets head of states, visiting other countries, and attending important national
ceremonies
23. Compare a government corporation with an independent agency and provide
examples for each
government corporation that performs a market-oriented public service and raises revenues to
fund its activities (Amtrak, USPS)
Independent Agency: Agency that is not part of a specific cabinet (CIA, NASA)
24. How did the Civil Service Act of 1883 change the way jobs were given out?
It started the process of the Merit System, which made lower end government jobs available only
to people who take a CivilServiceTest
25. Discuss what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is.
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, placed under the auspices of the Federal Reserve but
independent of it. The new agency has a broad mandate to regulate consumer financial products,
such as mortgages and credit cards, to ensure that they are fair and competitive.
26. What are revenue agencies and provide examples?
Revenue agencies are agencies that are tasked with collecting taxes. Ex: Internal Revenue
Service
27. Explain what is meant by privatization.
It's when the government outsources research, production of materials, etc., to private
companies. They are monitored by the government.
28. What is meant by a “blended workforce?”
A blended workforce is when government workers work hand in hand with contract workers.
29. Discuss what the National Performance Review is.
The National Performance Review sought to prompt federal agencies to adopt flexible, goal-
driven practices.
30. Define what oversight is and provide examples of Congressional agencies that
assist in overseeing the federal bureaucracy.
the effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control
over the activities of executive agencies
31. Discuss what devolution is.
Passing the responsibilities of certain departments to the states
32. What are line agencies?
Line agencies are agencies that deal directly with the public like Forest Service, Food Inspection
agency.
33. Differentiate between the following two types of civil cases: contracts & torts.
Torts: In a typical tort case, one individual charges that he has been injured by another's
negligence or malfeasance. Medical malpractice suits are one example of tort cases.
Contracts: When one party breaks their end of a contract
34. What does the following phrase mean, “The rule of law?”
It means controlling the case in question and future cases like it.
35. Define precedent & stare decisis.
Precedent: When a decision in SCOTUS is based on a past decision
Stare Decisis: literally, "let the decision stand"; the doctrine that a previous decision by a court
applies as a precedent in similar cases until that decision is overruled
36. What are the requirements to become a federal court judge?
No formal requirement other than having a law degree must be appointed by president
approved by senate.
37. Who sets the size of the U.S. Supreme Court?
Congress sets the amount of justices on the SCOTUS
38. Define plea bargain, original jurisdiction, writ of habeas corpus, judicial review,
amicus curiae and brief.
Plea Bargain: Basically snitching in turn for a small penalty.
Habeas Corpus: Must know what you're being tried for
Judcial Review: review by the US Supreme Court of the constitutional validity of a legislative
act.
Amicus Curiae: an impartial adviser, often voluntary, to a court of law in a particular case.\
Brief: Being briefed on a particular case or topic
39. Who is the solicitor general and what is his role?
Solicitor General represents the US in all cases that the US in involved in.
40. Compare a regular to a special concurrence.
For that purpose, they draft a concurring opinion, called a regular concurrence. In other
instances, one or more justices may agree with the majority decision but disagree with the
rationale presented in the majority opinion. These justices may draft special concurrences,
explaining their own rationale for the decision and how it differs from the majority's rationale.
41. What was the ruling of Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison (1803) and
discuss its impact?
Judicial Review was asserted in result of the case
42. Differentiate between judicial restraint and activism.
Judicial Restraint: When supreme court justices refuse to look past the exact wording of the
Constitution.
Activism: A supreme court justice that goes beyond the views of the constitution.
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