Congress
The number of Senate votes required to invoke cloture and end a filibuster
60
The vote threshold required in both chambers of Congress to override a presidential veto.
2/3
The president is constitutionally required to give this address to Congress (although it doesn't have to be spoken).
State of the Union
McCubbins and Schwartz would call this the oversight strategy being used when the House Government Oversight Committee holds its annual, direct examination of HUD administrators to root out any malfeasance.
Police Patrol Oversight
Established in Marbury v. Madison, this doctrine gives the Supreme Court the power to invalidate acts of Congress — even though the Constitution never explicitly mentions it.
Judicial Review
The presiding officer of the House who can appoint committees, set rules, and manage the entire legislative process.
Speaker of the House
This occurs when Congress adjourns before ten days have elapsed after sending a bill to the president, and the president takes no action on it.
Pocket Veto
A newly elected president with 70% approval ratings who rushes to pass campaign promises knows this informal period of high popularity won't last.
Honeymoon
Rather than directly monitoring agencies itself, Congress uses this oversight approach when it designs procedures that allow citizens and interest groups to raise concerns when something has gone wrong.
Fire Alarm Oversight
FDR's plan to appoint up to 6 additional justices in order to secure a majority sympathetic to his New Deal programs.
Court Packing
The two qualifications that differ between House members and senators under the Constitution.
Age & Length of Citizenship
The type of committee — like the House Education and Labor Committee — that is permanent, survives from Congress to Congress, and focuses on a defined policy area.
Standing Committee
When the White House tells congressional investigators that the "presidency requires a certain level of independence and privacy" and refuses to hand over files, it is asserting this doctrine.
Executive Privilege
Fill out this form in duplicate. Bring it to the tax office. Return with Form 763 and a receipt…" — this scenario is a textbook example of this bureaucratic concept.
Red Tape
In this Supreme Court case, the court struck down state taxation of federal property or its activities.
McCulloch v. Maryland
The fraction of Senate seats that stand for election every two years, a feature designed to insulate the chamber from sudden shifts in public mood.
1/3
When signed by a majority of House members, this petition pulls a bill directly to the floor, bypassing the committee entirely.
Discharge Petition
When a president goes on national television to urge Americans to call their representatives in support of a bill, this political strategy is being employed.
Going Public
The assassinated president whose death at the hands of a disappointed office-seeker prompted Congress to pass the Pendleton Civil Service Act in 1883.
James Garfield
The Judiciary Act of 1801 dramatically expanded the number of federal courts so that this outgoing political faction could pack the judiciary with loyalist judges in their final days in power.
Federalist Party
When a Democratic-controlled Illinois state government drew oddly shaped districts that virtually guaranteed Republicans only 3 of the state's 18 House seats, they were practicing this.
Gerrymandering
Because candidate-centered elections reward individual responsiveness over collective responsibility, the pursuit of reelection makes this vote-trading strategy especially attractive to members of Congress.
Logrolling
Presidents use these international agreements to sidestep the Senate's treaty ratification power entirely.
Executive Agreements
The first three departments established in the executive branch of the United States government.
Treasury, Foreign Affairs (State), and War
The three levels of the federal judiciary, from lowest to highest.
District Courts, Circuit Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court