Government Study Guide - Institutions

Government Study Guide: Institutions 1. Outline the basic steps of the bill to law process. Where does the significant work get done in this process? First the bill is rafted. It is then introduced in House. Then the Speaker of the House sends the bill to a committee. Committees decide to pass and while most bills die here, if a bill does pass it gets sent to the Rules Committee. They decide the rules for debate. The House debates the bill, and may add amendments. If a majority votes in favor of the bill, it goes to the Senate. It is introduced and sent to a committee. Then the Bill is called up and the Bill is debated and amendments may be added. If a majority votes in favor of the bill, it is returned to the House. The bill is then sent to the Conference Committee if the House rejects any of the amendments, the conference committee works out a compromise. The compromises is voted on by both houses. Once approved the bill goes to the president. The president may sign the bill or veto it. If approved, it becomes law. If the president vetoes the bill, it can still become law if two thirds of both houses vote to override the veto. 2. What are the different types of committees in the House and Senate? What are their roles and responsibilities? House: a. Ways & Means: This committee deals with tax bills b. Rules: This is the most powerful committee because it sets the legislative calendar. It also establishes “rules” for debate and amendments c. Appropriations: This committee deals with spending bills and is generally supposed to provide funding for federal programs. d. Budget: This committee is supposed to raise money for federal programs. Senate: a. Finance: This committee deals with tax bills. b. Appropriations: This committee deals with the spending of bills and providing funding for federal programs. c. Budget: This committee raises money for federal programs. d. Foreign Relations: This committee is highly prestigious and has a larger role than the House of Rep because they are allowed to ratify treaties and have ambassador conformations. 3. What were the concerns of the founders about the presidency and what compromises did they make to ease those fears? Use your notes and Federalist #70 to make this assessment. The founding fathers were afraid of having an excessively strong president and an unlimited amount of terms. The 22nd amendment set a limit on the amount of terms a president can serve and the system of checks and balances was put in place to prevent the president from having too much power. 4. What are the written and unwritten qualifications of the presidency? The written qualifications of the president are that they have to be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and have residency for at least 14 years. The unwritten qualifications are that they are male, they are partisan, have charisma, went to college at an ivy league school (educational elite), political experience, religious, and is a family man. 5. What are the roles and responsibilities of the president? The president is the Chief: Legislator, Executive, Commander, Diplomat and Head of Political Party. As Chief Legislator he proposes/signs/vetoes legislation, calls special sessions of congress, makes a State of the Union Address. As Chief Executive he enforce laws, treaties, & court decisions, appoints officials to office, issues executive orders. As Commander in Chief he is he head of the armed forces. As Chief Diplomat he sets overall foreign policy, appoint ambassadors, negotiates treaties and executive agreements. As Chief Jurist he appoints federal judges & issue pardons/amnesty. As the Head of the Political Party he informally select party’s chairman of national committee & vp nominee). 6. What are the non-constitutional sources of presidential power? Non-constitutional sources of presidential power include unity of the office, presidential character/personality (strong personalities have great impact), and the growing complexity of society (people have demanded the federal government plays a larger role in areas of public concern) 7. What is the president’s cabinet? What duties and responsibilities do they have? What factors are included in their selection and approval? The cabinet is part of the president’s staff which includes the heads of the cabinet departments & others who hold rank (OMB director, CIA director, White House counselor, UN Ambassador, US trade representative). Each person of the cabinet is appointed by the president with Senate consent. They meet irregularly and are supposed to deal with public policy but usually are more interested in defending and enlarging their own departments. Factors that affect cabinet secretaries include party affiliation, interest group influence, race, gender, & geographical diversity. 8. Why has the V.P. been received as such a weak position? What are the duties and responsibilities of the V.P.? How have presidential succession issues been changed in the last 50 to 60 years? It’s a weak position because they only have two constitutional duties: to become the president if the office becomes vacant and to preside over the senate, voting only when there is a tie. Generally the VP does the unappealing work and things that are seen as unimportant. The VP can now become the president if the president is disabled, in recent years, the presidents have made more use of the VP (Clinton, Obama, Bush), and VP can also be a stepping stone to becoming president (Bush). 9. What is the “Imperial Presidency”? Why has this been an increasingly hot topic in the last 40 years? Imperial presidency is the idea that says the president’s power has grown excessively. Schlesinger stated the president has abused his war powers (sending troops without a congressional declaration of war), has emergency powers (can suspend habeas corpus, censor mail, control manufacturing/communication/transportation, Patriot Act), using executive agreements instead of treaties and executive privilege (the right not to divulge conversations between himself & his advisers. 10. What are the specific areas where the presidency has shown an increase in power? The president has increased his power in executive agreements. The number of executive agreements heavily outnumbers treaties. War gives the president more power. With war, they have the ability to censor mail, control communication & transportation, analyze citizens’ phone records, and suspend habeas corpus. They also can appoint who they want to into office. 11. How has Congress specifically reacted to the “Imperial Presidencies”? Congress established that it must be notified within 48 hours when the President sends troops overseas to an area where hostilities are imminent without a congressional war declaration, the president must consult with Congress if troops are to engage in combat, and Congress can pass a resolution to withdraw troops. Regarding confirmation of presidential appointees, Congress expects senatorial courtesy as a traditional action. (Executive War Powers) 12. What are the different types of law in our judicial system? The different types of law in our judicial system are common, criminal, statutory and civil. Common laws are based upon a system of unwritten laws which are based upon precedents; judges will rely upon the principle of stare decisis. Criminal laws are related to violations of criminal code. Statutory laws deal with written statutes . Civil laws are related to disputes between two parties rather than violations against society. 13. What are the 4 types of jurisdiction? What types of cases may the Federal Government try? The four types of jurisdiction are exclusive, concurrent, original, and appellate. Exclusive jurisdiction is sole authority of a federal court to try a case. Concurrent jurisdiction is authority of both a federal and a state court to try a case. Original jurisdiction is authority of a court to first try a case. Appellate jurisdiction is authority of a court to hear a subsequent appeal. The types of cases that the Federal Government may try are cases that involve the Constitution, a federal law, a treaty, admiralty law or maritime law, disputes between two or more states, the U.S. government as a party, citizens of different states, and ambassadors or diplomats. 14. What did Hamilton argue for in Federalist #78? Did he get what he wanted? He argued for a separate judicial branch and having Justices that would serve for a life term in accordance with “good behavior”. He believed the judiciary was the “least dangerous” among the other branches saying that it did not have the power of the sword or the power of the purse. The executive and legislative branch hold those powers. The judiciary only had the power to interpret the Constitution. He got what he wanted because justices hold life terms, they don't have the power to attack other forces or power over the national budget, and are still weak compared to the other branches. 15. Compare and contrast District Courts, Courts of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. Federal courts are established by the Constitution to handle disputes involving laws passed by Congress and the Constitution. The differences between Courts of Appeals and District Courts are defined by jurisdiction, which refers to the kinds of cases a court is authorized to hear. Cases are heard first in the district courts and if either party disagrees with the decision, they appeal by asking the courts of appeals to review the decision. The Supreme Court is the highest division among all the courts and receive cases that are appealed from the Courts of Appeals. 16. What factors affect the selection of a Federal Judge or Justice? The factors that affect the selection of a federal judge or justice are senatorial courtesy, the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate votes, political parties, diversity (race and sex), age, American Bar Association evaluations of nominees, existence of “paper trail”, number of judges, and ideology of prospective judges. 17. What are the key powers of the Supreme Court? How does a case get there? The key powers of the Supreme Court are the powers of: judicial review, interpreting broadly-worded laws of Congress and the Constitution and overruling earlier Supreme Court decisions. First, requests are made for Supreme Court decisions. When a party requests a Supreme Court decision, it files a petition for a writ of certiorari and these petitions are screened through the Court’s law clerks which are then reviewed by the Justices based on the rule of 4. The rule of 4 says that in order for the Court to decide a case, 4 Justices must agree on it. When Justices accept a case, they decide whether to ask for more information and oral arguments from the attorneys or to decide the case quickly on the basis of the attorneys briefs. 18. Why are opinions written? Who writes them? Opinions are written to share the Court’s decision to the public, establish precedents for future cases, and hints that Congress, the states, or the President should take certain actions. They are written depending on the Chief Justice’s vote. If the Chief Justice voted with the majority, he assigns someone in the majority to write the opinion. If the Chief Justice voted with the minority, the most senior Justice among the majority assigns the opinion. 19. How are the Supreme Court decisions evaded although they should be treated as law? Once the Supreme Court makes a decision on a case it is up to the bureaucrats to enforce it. An example is the Brown vs Board of Education Case. The Supreme Court said that segregation was not allowed and then the people did not like that so they shut the school down. It is up to the Bureaucrats to enforce the decision made and to what extent. 20. What is judicial activism v. restraint? How have different courts under Chief Justices Warren, Burger, and Rehnquist shown both? Which specific cases exemplify activism or restraint? Judicial activism is when Justices make rulings based on their personal or political considerations rather than on the already existing law. Judicial restraint is when Justices decide rulings based strictly on existing laws and the Constitution. Chief Justice Rehnquist showed restraint when he ruled that the president’s line-item veto authority was not constitutional (Clinton v. City of New York). Chief Justice Robert court used judicial activism when setting the abortion guidelines (Roe vs Wade). Chief Justice Warren used judicial activism when striking down segregation in school (Brown vs. Board of Education) and used judicial constraint when allowing Obamacare be constitutional. 21. What are the restraints on judicial power? The courts are only able to decided rulings. They do not have the power to enforce it. They are also not allowed to choose any case they want to rule on. They must wait for a case to reach / come to them. The Senate is in charge of conforming the judges and the impeachment of them. It states in the constitution that congress is allowed to prevent the Supreme Court from hearing certain cases. 22. How is the Federal Bureaucracy structured? It is made up of the Independent Executive Agencies such as NASA, Independent Regulatory Commissions that regulates important aspects of the economy. Their decisions are not controlled by President. They have the policy implementation power along with quasi legislative and judicial power. 23. Why has the Bureaucracy grown so large in this country? How are “iron triangles” related to this growth? The Bureaucracy has grown due to several reasons: National growth, Increase in technology and International crisis. The US has grow nationally and it increases the need for agencies to deal with the growing population. The increase in technology increases the need for agencies to manage the technology. National/international crisis causes the increase in power for the Defence Department and Homeland Security. 24. In terms of public opinion, what would those in defense of the bureaucracy say and what would those say who wanted to criticize the Bureaucracy? People who criticize them say that they are wasting their time on small things and do not focus on the greater problems (The Damn Letter). They also say that their are so many rules and people to go through, red tapes, to get 1 small task done (Changing of the Light Bulb in our classroom). Those in favor of them will say that America has been helped by the Bureaucrats. They are able to create a stronger connection to them than any other government officials. The creation of many different agencies served to better keep the Americans safe and happy. 25. How can the President, Congress, Interest Groups, the Media, and the Judiciary control the Bureaucracy? President: Appoints/Fires top level bureaucrats, Propose agency budget Congress: Assigns the agency budget, Conforms the top personnel, reorganization of the exec branch has to be approved, president can’t fire majority of the bureaucrats Interest Groups: Lobbying creates access points, Revolving door, Iron Triangle, some agency and clients relations are super close that they are considered the clients of the agency Media: They act as watchdogs scrutinizing the every move (did the CIA and FBI see the signs before 9/11), whistleblowers, and releasing leaks Judicial: Injunctions (judicial order that restrains a person from beginning or continuing an action) and the writs of mandamus (ordering the government official to fulfill their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion) 26. What are the legal constraints that have been imposed upon the Bureaucracy? The Freedom of Information Act prevents secrecy from the public. The Hatch Ats limits the bureaucrats political activity and causes them to be impartial. They also have many guidelines that need to be followed before the appointment of a person. Additional Terms & Concepts to Know ● Senatorial Courtesy Senatorial Courtesy is a long-established traditional practice that explains the President’s consultation with the two senators of a state to get their approval for an appointment. ● Judicial “Litmus Test” A Judicial “Litmus Test” is an examination of the political ideology of a nominated judge. ● Judicial standing In law, a judicial standing is the term for the ability of a party to demonstrate to the court sufficient conection to and harm from the law or action challenged to support that party’s participation in the case. White House Office The White House Office is presidential staff who oversee the policy interests of the president. ● ● Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. ● SBA Small Business Administration: helps small businesses by providing them with finance through loans, bonds, or venture capital ● FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency: to support citizens and responders and work together to recover from and protect against all hazards ● OMB Office of Management and Budget: to assist the president in his policy, budget, management, and regulatory objectives ● CEA California Earthquake Authority: not for profit agency that provides residential earthquake insurance to Californians ● FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: maintain stability and public confidence in the nation's financial system through things like ensuring deposits and supervising financial institutions ● FCC : Federal Communications Commission - regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. ● FEC: Federal Election Commission - A regulatory agency created to administer and enforce the statute that governs the financing of federal elections. ● NLRB: National Labor Relations Board - Protects the rights of private sector employees to join together, with or without a union, to improve their wages and working conditions. ● SEC: Securities and Exchange Commission - Protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation. ● TVA: Tennessee Valley Authority - A corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power distributors serving people in parts of seven southeastern states. They also provide flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.