govt – Flashcard

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Constitution requires one to be at least 35, have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years, natural-born citizen.

The national presidential election actually consists of a separate election in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia; in these 51 elections, the voters are really voting for "electors" pledged to one of the tickets. These electors make up the "Electoral College." (In most cases, the names of the electors aren't written on the ballot; instead the ballot lets voters choose among "Electors for" each of the tickets, naming the presidential and vice-presidential candidates each slate of electors is pledged to.) Each state has the same number of electors as it has senators and representatives (there are two senators from each state, but the number of representatives depends on the state population in the most recent census). The District of Columbia, although it isn't a state, also participates in presidential elections -- it currently has three electors. The People in Each State Vote for Electors in the Electoral College. In most of the states, and also in the District of Columbia, the election is winner-take-all; whichever ticket receives the most votes in that state (or in D.C.) gets all the electors. (The only exceptions are Maine and Nebraska. In these states, just two of the electors are chosen in a winner-take-all fashion from the entire state. The remaining electors are determined by the winner in each congressional district, with each district voting for one elector.)

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If no candidate receives a majority of Electoral votes, the House of Representatives elects the President from the 3 Presidential candidates who received the most Electoral votes. Each state delegation has one vote. The Senate would elect the Vice President from the 2 Vice Presidential candidates with the most Electoral votes. Each Senator would cast one vote for Vice President. If the House of Representatives fails to elect a President by Inauguration Day, the Vice-President Elect serves as acting President until the deadlock is resolved in the House.

are members of the electoral college who do not vote fo their parties candidate

1. Emergency Powers Usually exercised in times of national emergencies. 2. Executive Orders. Represents executive's legislative power. Mostly used to give directives or to reorganize the bureaucracy. 3. Executive Privilege/Immunity. Provides for executive immunity from appearing before/providing information to Congress or the Courts. Constitutional separation of powers. National security. 4. Power of Impoundment. Refusal to spend money appropriated by Congress. Importance of the Budget & impoundment Control Act (1974).

Impeachment is the process of removing from office high government officials charged with serious wrongdoing. As a process, impeachment is a formal inquiry aimed at making public officers accountable to the people based on the principle that public office is a public trust. The House shall act as the sole prosecutor at the trial in the Senate through a committee of 11 members to be elected by a majority vote. It is the Senate which has the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment.

is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as criminal or civil punishment. "of mal-practice or neglect of duty."774 The Committee of Detail reported as grounds "Treason (or) Bribery or Corruption."775 And the Committee of Eleven reduced the phrase to "Treason, or bribery."776 On September 8, Mason objected to this limitation, observing that the term did not encompass all the conduct which should be grounds for removal; he therefore proposed to add "or maladministration" following "bribery." Upon Madison's objection that "[s]o vague a term will be equivalent to a tenure during pleasure of the Senate," Mason suggested "other high crimes and misdemeanors,"

22nd:Was added to set a limit on the number of times a president could be elected. Which is two-four year terms. One exception to this amendment is the vice president who could be president for up to ten years. Once you have served you can be re-elected after those two terms are up. Socitey gets new blood in the office which is good because you can only do your dutties in office for so long. THE 25th AMENDMENT: This amendment cleared up all issues as to who becomes president if he would resign or die, who is next in line after the vice president and so on. The vice president is second in line shall the president resign or die. If the vice president spot is open the president will nominate a vice president which is comfirmed by majority vote of both houses of congress. Also this amendment established who becomes president if the president is unable to perform his duties while in office, the vice president would take over if the president can't perform his duties. This amendment gave the people a sense of security as they know who is going to take over shall something happen to the president. 23rd Amendment does not make Washington, D.C., a state; it just confers upon its citizens the number of electors that it would have if it were a state. It also did not provide full representation in Congress for the District. The Congress passed the amendment on June 17, 1960; the amendment was ratified on March 29, 1961 (285 days).

PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM: A system in which governmental authority is divided among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. PRIME MINISTER (PARLIAMENTARY) SYSTEM: A system in which governmental authority is vested in the legislative body & a cabinet headed by a prime minister.

War Powers Act (1973) - intended to prevent president from involving troops in war-like situations not declared or authorized by Congress.

cancel or postpone the punishment of (someone, esp. someone condemned to death). action or the process of commuting a judicial sentence. the action of forgiving or being forgiven for an error or offense.

a rule or order issued by the president to an executive branch of the government and having the force of law.

Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Title II created the Congressional Budget Office. Title III governs the procedures by which Congress annually adopts a budget resolution, a concurrent resolution that is not signed by the President, which sets fiscal policy for the Congress. specifies that the President may request that Congress rescind appropriated funds. If both the Senate and the House of Representatives have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation. Congress is not required to vote on the request, and has ignored most Presidential requests.

An agreement made between the executive branch of the U.S. government and a foreign government without ratification by the Senate. a formally concluded and ratified agreement between countries.

Provides for executive immunity from appearing before/providing information to Congress or the Courts. executive privilege is the power claimed by the President of the United States and other members of the executive branch to resist certain subpoenas and other interventions by the legislative and judicial branches of government.

This address is required by the US Constitution and gives the President the opportunity to explain what he plans to do during the coming year as well as perhaps give out some new information about what he did last year. The executive budget is the budget for the executive branch of the United States government.

is the power (used by an officer of the state, for example) to unilaterally stop an official action, especially the enactment of legislation.

With a "regular" veto, the president prevents it from becoming a law by withholding his signature and returning it to Congress; with a pocket veto he also withholds his signature, but does so when Congress has adjourned and has not designated a legal agent to receive veto or other messages (as at the end of a two-year congress). This is a pocket veto, and the bill dies after 10 days of being submitted to the president. A pocket veto applies only when the Congress is not in session.

is a special form of veto that authorizes a chief executive to reject particular provisions of a bill enacted by a legislature without vetoing the entire bill.

(1) Congress can impeach the President (2) Congress must approve the President's judicial nominations (3) Congress can override the President's veto (4) Congress controls the budget

Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another.

a custom whereby presidential appointments are confirmed only if there is no objection to them by the senators from the appointee's state, esp. from the senior senator of the president's party from that state.

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...A civil servant, a permanent govt. employee. How is a bureaucrat different from a politician? Temporary govt. (policy-makers) versus permanent govt. (policy enforcers). Bureaucrats are highly professional and specialized. Bureaucrats are not directly accountable to voters. No bureaucracy, no government.

...is a federal law established in 1883 that stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit. The act provided selection of government employees competitive exams, rather than ties to politicians or political affiliation. It also made it illegal to fire or demote government employees for political reasons. To enforce the merit system and the judicial system, the law also created the United States Civil Service Commission.

...Operates under rules & procedures with a chain of command. Highly specialized areas of functions. Appointed and not elected based on qualification and experience. Paid a fixed salary according to rank. Usually a career opportunity. Subject to control from superiors. Promotion determined by established process and superior's judgment.

...Cabinet Departments. Headed by a secretary appointed by the president. Basic responsibility is to implement legislative and executive policies. Depts. Are subdivided into bureaus headed by a career civil servant. Independent Executive Agencies. Created by Congress and accountable to the president. Usually created in response to a particular lobby. Performs a single, highly complex, more political than administrative function. (EPA, NASA, CIA, TSA) Federal Corporations. Govt.-owned corporations and operate semi privately. Corporate heads are appointed by president but exercise considerable autonomy. (USPS, TVA, FDIC, AMTRAK) Operate under congressional guidelines and depend on federal appropriations. Independent Regulatory Agencies. Deal with micro-economy through regulation of private sector economy (FCC, FTC, FCC etc.) They are quasi-judicial and quasi-legislative. Goal is to protect consumers. Often criticized for being "captured" or "colonized" (Iron-Triangle).

Administration Execute and enforce laws and policies. Make rules and regulations that aid in this process. Initiate campaigns to publicize their work. Educate the public about a program's benefits and purposes. Acquisitive model of Bureaucracy: The assumption that the bureaucracy is always seeking to expand the size of their budgets & staffs so as to gain greater power and influence in govt. Services. Provide vital services to the public or specific groups. Regulation. Goal is to protect the general welfare of the public. (FCC) Licensing Set minimum standards and qualifications (driving, medicine, law, etc.) Information Gathering.

The paradox of the modern state: balancing the need for bureaucracies with the fulfillment of national goals. Problem of inefficiency. Monopolistic Model of Bureaucracy: The assumption that the bureaucracy is a near monopoly and lacks competition. Therefore, it is inefficient & lacks incentive to reduce costs or use resources more productively. Efficiency & productivity is hard to measure. Re-inventing govt. under the Clinton administration. Corruption. Problem of accountability. Are bureaucrats administrators or policymakers? Bureaucrats are non-elected & non-responsible to the voters. Yet, make decisions that affect the lives of the people. They adjudicate through administrative courts. They discretionarily implement laws and policies because they are broadly made. They make rules and regulations. They provide specialized, technical advice to politicians.

The Hatch Act of 1939, officially An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities, is a United States federal law whose main provision prohibits employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the president, vice-president, and certain designated high-level officials of that branch, from engaging in partisan political activity.

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A National Security Council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The Director of the OMB is a member of the President's Cabinet. The main function of the OMB is to assist the President to prepare the budget.[2] The OMB also measures the quality of agency programs, policies, and procedures and to see if they comply with the President's policies. is an agency within the Executive Office of the President that advises the President of the United States on economic policy.[