Term
| What is the main purpose of the courts? |
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Definition
| To establish the constitutionality of policies. Court decisions can change the entire body of law and has authority to review decisions made by the executive branch. |
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Term
| Where do the Courts get the authority for reform? |
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Definition
Through jurisdiction prescribed and proscribed by Congress, it does not have the RIGHT to judicial review.
- Political variation equal to that of Congress. |
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Term
| What does the Court do when they decide on a case? |
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Definition
| It will review past cases, meaning it works on the basis of precedent. When it overturns past decisions circumstances change that effect the entire body of law. |
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Term
| What is the concern of the courts concerning policies? |
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Definition
| Concern is with the process of establishing authority and making policy, rather than the content of public policies --> this affects the national economy. |
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Term
| What is the institutional memory of government? |
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Definition
| The bureaucracy, the largest institution of government, which knows how the government runs. |
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Term
| What is the job of the bureaucracy? |
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Definition
| Their job is to slow policy change and convert the lofty goals of policy into regulations and rules that are refined for citizens ("on the ground"). It is a ready and willing source of expertise. |
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Term
| How is the bureaucracy the administrative and analytical machinery of government? |
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Definition
- It puts the decisions of the court/president/congress into action.
- Analytical information that governs society and the economy is generated by the bureaucracy. |
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Term
| What is the central purpose of the bureaucracy? |
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Definition
| Providing objective information. |
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Term
| What are the three major functions of the bureaucracy? |
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Definition
1. Implementing policies and laws.
2. Issuing jurisdiction against citizens.
3. Issuing regulations.
* whoever controls bureaucracies controls policy changes that directly affect citizens. |
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Term
| What are the characteristics of the bicameral legislature? |
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Definition
- House: rule-bound and more influential on the budget, majority rule.
- Senate: governed by norms and more influential on foreign policy; minority rule --> dilute public opinion and stops quick policy change. |
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Term
| What occurs when a party control one or both chambers in Congress? |
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Definition
| They control the agenda, committees, and war chests. |
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Term
| What are the three underlying tensions when discussing government spending? (Debate discussion) |
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Definition
1. Individual initiative versus leveling the playing field for the disadvantaged.
2. Creating the necessary conditions for the development of citizens versus creating specific (even mandatory) programs to ensure citizens have the necessary tools to develop. --> this is if you agree that the government should be involved in aiding citizens procure jobs.
3. Making the best, more efficient decisions with scarce government funding --> forces people to think about their own priorities and whether their priorities should be conditioned by those of the rest of society. |
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Term
| What does political identity refer to? |
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Definition
The fact that a person's race, ethnicity, or sex influences the way they vote.
i.e. A black legislator does not vote the same way as white legislators. |
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Term
| What is the role of committees? |
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Definition
Committees are issue-based and provide information for the floor. They gain expertise through delegation and comparative advantage of expertise.
- Centralization vs. Delegation |
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Term
| What are the roles of standing committees and subcommittees? |
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Definition
- Standing committees have broad jurisdiction and are permanent.
- Subcommittees are not permanent. |
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Term
| Who is the House Speaker/Minority/Majority leader? Who is the Senate President/Majority/Minority leader? |
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Definition
House:
- Speaker: John Boehner
- Majority: Eric Cantor
- Minority: Nancy Pelosi
Senate:
- President: Joe Biden
- Majority: Harry Reid
- Minority: Mitch McConnell |
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Term
| What is the Gang of Eight? |
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Definition
| A group of legislators that the president has to inform before committing US force. |
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Term
| Who controls the distribution of bills? |
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Definition
| Not every committee has a right to see a bill, it is controlled by the Speaker of the House, who is controlled by the majority party. |
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Term
| What do committees hold hearings for? |
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Definition
To revise a bill as well as send info about the politics of the proposed legislation.
1. Whether the legislation is any good --> Policy information
2. Who the legislation effects, whether positively or negatively --> Political information
* Committees are not responsive to the public or interest groups. |
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Term
| What occurs if the president does not sign a piece of legislation within 10 days and Congress is still in session? |
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Definition
| The bill will automatically become a law. |
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Term
| What is the source of authority for bureaucratic regulations? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the traditional role of a bill? |
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Definition
| The vehicle for amending the Constitution |
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Term
| What are concurrent resolutions? |
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Definition
Used by Congress to communicate some thing to another branch of the government:
- Does not become a law
- Takes action for both chambers of the Congress
- Expresses the "sense" of Congress |
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Term
| What are simple resolutions? |
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Definition
Used by Congress to communicate something to the rest of the branches:
- Acts for only ONE chamber
- Does not become a law
- Used for amending rules, creating committees, or expressing the sense of a chamber. |
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Term
| What are the four types of committees and their roles? |
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Definition
1. Authorization: writes substantive law and authorizes expenditures --> cannot authorize how much is spent.
2. Appropriations: sets appropriations on a financial level --> sets amount of money spent, but cannot make decisions to spend or not.
3. Budgeting: reconciles what is appropriated with the overall budget --> can trim spending to meet the limits of the budget.
4. Rules (House): sets the rules of debate for a piece of legislation, an issue, or organized matter --> influences if a bill is passed or not. |
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Term
| What is the role of the Ways and Means committee? |
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Definition
| Regulates taxing and spending. |
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Term
| What is the purpose of congressional oversight? |
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Definition
A check on both unelected bureaucrats and the President.
- Gathers policy and political information.
- Serves to redefine issues
- Hearings provide the glue that forms, maintains, and tears issue coalitions. |
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Term
| What are the three fundamental problems Congress faces? |
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Definition
1. The need to distribute the benefits of policymaking.
2. The need for information on which to base decisions about distributing policy benefits and governing effectively.
3. The need to govern, which indirectly means winning elections and influencing policy. |
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Term
| What is the distributive theory? |
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Definition
Congress has to find a way to distribute power, resources, and benefits of policymaking.
- Raises two questions: How to deliver the benefits and how to ensure other members do no interfere
* Answer: Congressional committees are vehicles for delivering benefits and are confederations of mutually non-interfeering pacts --> gives institutions the ability to operate on the basis of comparative advantage and gains from trade.
- High demanders: outliers that are not the average members of Congress and have the most incentive to become experts in their issue.
*Based on the distributive theory, it would be ideal for committees to be made up of high demanders of that particular policy. Homogenous committee. |
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Term
| What is the information theory? |
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Definition
Focuses on the incentives the majority party uses to get members to specialize and gain expertise --> trades distribution of benefits for information embodied in specialization.
- Congress faces the problem of getting information when most people are biased, especially high demanders.
* Solution: Getting rid of high demanders OR marginalizing them by staffing a committee with average members --> Heterogenous committee. |
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Term
| What is the party cartel theory? |
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Definition
The belief that political parties act as cartels, their purpose is to ensure the longevity of the party in control, while aiding individuals in re-election.
- Party causes structure and determine the make-up of the committee system and sets the agenda up for the majority.
- Whips help to overcome defection and collective action problems.
*Tension: control vs. expertise |
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Term
| What is the main concern of members of Congress? |
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Definition
| To get re-elected, then comes a concern for good policy. |
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Term
| What do members engage in to provide information and shortcuts for citizens/voters? |
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Definition
1. Advertising --> party affiliation
2. Credit Claim --> shows what they have done for their constituents
3. Position taking --> divide the public into those who support them and those who do not. |
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Term
| Where does the autonomy of members of Congress lie? |
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Definition
| In the bands of the legislative system and its flow of information, which sets bounds of acquiescence on member's decision-making. |
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Term
| How do members of Congress identify sources of conflict? |
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Definition
| By searching for a consensus among the field of relevant factors that lead to a mode of decision-making. |
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Term
| What is the trade off in democracy? |
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Definition
The more democracy a government has, the less Congress can get done vs. the less democracy a government has, the more Congress can get done, but at the cost of public input.
* The public rewards extreme candidates, this leads to a Congress that can get very little done. |
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Term
| Why is Congress decentralized? |
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Definition
| To serve a myriad of diverse interests. It is the institutional embodiment of pluralist democracy, which means enacting programs that cost government to grow. |
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Term
| What does it mean that citizens are conservative by mouth, but liberal by policy? |
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Definition
| Citizens love programs, but a big government. |
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Term
| What does the ability to implement laws provide the president? |
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Definition
| A greater range of autonomy. |
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Term
| How does the president use his/her influence? |
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Definition
1. Using the small amount of formal authority wisely.
2. Leveraging the power of professional reputation.
3. Nurturing public prestige. |
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Term
| What are some ways to understand the presidency? |
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Definition
1. Separating the individual from the institution --> individual presidents differ in terms of their cognitive abilities, personalities, and their circumstances surrounding their administration.
2. A presidents ability to campaign versus govern the country. |
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Term
| What are some strategies presidents use to influence policy? |
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Definition
1. Going public: reaching out to the public to influence policy.
2. Legislative strategies: working with/through Congress.
3. Administrative strategies: working with/through bureaucracies. |
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Term
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Definition
- He greatly increased the informational prowess of the presidency by giving recommendations on how to run the bureaucracy. i.e. Brain trust and Brownlow Committee
- He vaulted the presidency to the stature of national agenda setter.
- He created an institutional presidency that hallmarks of economic specialization and functional differential. |
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Term
| How does the bureaucracy deal with the private sector? |
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Definition
1. Government subsidizes and bears risks of the private sector.
2. Regulates business. |
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