Congress in General
This chamber initiates all revenue bills.
House of Representatives?
Trading votes between legislators to build coalitions is known as this.
logrolling
Theodore Roosevelt coined this term to describe the president’s public platform for persuasion.
bully pulpit
The Supreme Court established judicial review in this landmark 1803 case.
Marbury v. Madison
Congress uses these formal gatherings to question agency leaders and scrutinize agency actions.
hearings and investigations
A Senate procedure allowing unlimited debate to block action on a bill.
filibuster
A small amendment unrelated to a bill’s main topic, often added in the Senate.
rider
The maximum number of years a person can be president
10
When courts actively reinterpret the Constitution to address modern issues, it is called this.
judicial activism
The tool allowing Congress to influence agency behavior by providing or withholding funding.
power of the purse
This type of committee action rewrites and edits a bill before it is reported out.
markup
This term refers to federal funds inserted into bills for specific local projects.
earmarks or Pork Barrel Spending
A directive from the president that has the force of law but does not require congressional approval.
executive order
A court that chooses to defer to the elected branches and avoid overturning laws is practicing this.
judicial restraint
When Congress passes new laws or amends old ones to direct agency behavior, it is exercising this type of oversight.
legislative mandates
A bill combining many unrelated proposals into one massive package.
omnibus bill
This type of Senate objection delays a bill without stopping it entirely, unlike a filibuster.
hold
When presidents use public appeals to bypass negotiations with Congress, political scientists call it this.
going public
The Supreme Court takes only a small percentage of appealed cases each year through this discretionary power.
granting certiorari (the cert process)
This office conducts independent audits and evaluations of federal programs.
What is the Government Accountability Office
This House committee controls debate rules, amendments, and scheduling for most bills that reach the floor.
Rules Committee
The number of votes needed to end debate in the Senate, which is not the same as the number needed to pass the bill.
60 (cloture)
This constitutional power allows the president to reject parts of a bill only if Congress gives the authority—though the Supreme Court struck the power down.
line-item veto
This type of judicial opinion agrees with the majority outcome but for different legal reasoning.
concurring opinion
Bureaucratic agencies often collaborate with congressional committees and interest groups in stable policy relationships known as these.
iron triangles