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Bureaucracy
Budget
How a bill...
SCOTUS
Redistricting
100
Agencies that are quasi legislative and quasi judicial in nature and operation. Examples include the FDA and the EPA.
What is an independent regulatory agency?
100
Policy that determines how the economy is managed as a result of government spending and borrowing.
What is fiscal policy?
100
Once a bill has been introduced, this is its first stop (and often its last stop).
What is a committee?
100
The government has the right to censor free speech if, during national emergencies, it feels the result of the speech will harm national security.
What is "clear and present danger"?
100
The redistribution of congressional seats among the states every ten years, following the census.
What is reapportionment?
200
1883 law that began the process of transferring government jobs from the patronage system to the merit system.
What is the Pendleton Act?
200
Set up by Congress, this nonpartisan office evaluates the cost of legislative proposals.
What is the Congressional Budget Office?
200
Creates the rules for debate and amendment; the "traffic cop" of Congress.
What is the House Rules Committee?
200
Part of the 1st Amendment that defines the right of the citizens to practice their religions without government interference.
What is the free exercise clause?
200
The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.
What is redistricting?
300
An 1989 law creating an Office of Special Counsel to investigate complaints from bureaucrats claiming they were punished after reporting to Congress about waste, fraud, or abuse in their agencies.
What is the Whistleblower Protection Act?
300
Responsible for the preparation of the federal budget; also oversees Congressional appropriations.
What is the Office of Management and Budget?
300
A permanent committee that meets regularly.
What is a standing committee?
300
The government is prevented from using evidence that was obtained illegally.
What is the Exclusionary rule?
300
Redistricting to break up a certain group; takes away power from the group.
What is cracking?
400
Congressional supervision of the bureaucracy.
What is oversight?
400
Adopted in 1913; explicitly allows Congress to levy an income tax.
What is the 16th Amendment?
400
Established when the Senate and the House come up with two forms of the same bill, this committee's primary job is to figure out the differences and create one bill that they bring back to either the House or Senate.
What is a conference committee?
400
The Bill of Rights applies to the states as a result of Supreme Court decisions.
What is the Selective Incorporation doctrine?
400
The 1964 case in which the Supreme Court invalidated unequal congressional districts, saying that all legislative districts must contain about equal numbers of people. The ruling is popularly known as the principle of one person, one vote.
What is Wesberry v. Sanders?
500
The extent to which appointed bureaucrats can choose courses of action and make policies that are not spelled out in advance by laws.
What is discretionary authority?
500
Approximately 60% of the federal budget; examples include Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
What is Entitlement spending?
500
Congress, through hearings, monitors the executive branch, along with its actions and policies.
What is legislative oversight?
500
Latin for judicial precedent.
What is stare decisis?
500
The Court ruled that although it was a legitimate goal for state legislatures to take race into account when they draw electoral districts in order to increase the voting strength of minorities, they may not make race the sole reason for drawing district lines.
What is Reno v. Shaw?