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Veto (line item, pocket)
- i. Veto
- a. Every time constitution gives president power, there's limited power
- b. Would go back to Congress for 2/3 to override
- 1. Line item
- a. Law - how much money
- b. Gives govt. or president to reduce amount of money on that bill
- c. Power that president did not have
- d. Given when Bill Clinton was president and power struck down by Supreme Court
- e. Power that state governors have
- 2. Pocket
- a. Whenever president decides not to take action
- b. President needs to sign
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�Take care� clause
- a. President's job: to take care that the laws are faithfully executed
- b. President's job: Implement will of Congress
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President as commander in chief
- i. Commander in Chief
- 1. Highest ranking military official in US
- 2. President decides when and where to deploy the military
- 3. Head of CIA, FBI, and National Security Agency
- 4. Deploy military to other countries or own boundaries
- ii. President constantly in struggle for control of military
- iii. Unclear who should control military
- iv. Congress struggles to control military
- v. Both try to assert dominance but president is always commander and chief
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Executive order
- a. Directives issued by president with instruction on implementing laws
- b. If you leave next election, it can be overturn
- 1. Emancipation Proclamation
- a. Ended slavery
- 2. Executive Order 9066
- a. Japanese internment
- i. Threat to National Security
- 3. Executive Order 9981
- a. Segregation in the military
- 4. Executive Order 11246
- a. Affirmative action
- 5. Obama vs. Bush
- a. Stem cell research
- i. Bush: He now no longer support stem cell research
- ii. Obama: fund stem cell research
- b. International family planning
- i. Bush: Republicans will not fund
- ii. Obama: if international organization provides information on family planning you can be given money
- c. End of �enhanced interrogation techniques�
- i. Torture
- ii. Obama: not going torture
- 6. They can be overruled by an act of Congress or called unconstitutional by Supreme Court
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Executive privilege
- i. Executive Privilege
- a. President has right to privacy when it comes to communications with advisors
- 1. US v. Nixon
- a. Watergate
- b. Nixon insecure about winning reelection
- i. Hired team of people to break in National committees headquarters in Watergate
- c. Tape recorder in his oval office
- i. Information on tapes that he knew about break in
- ii. He doesn't have to give tapes
- d. Suggest executive privileges but limited
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Executive agreement
An agreement , made between the president and another country, that has the force of a treaty but does not require the Senate's "advice and consent"
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US v. Nixon
- a. Watergate
- b. Nixon insecure about winning reelection
- i. Hired team of people to break in National committees headquarters in Watergate
- c. Tape recorder in his oval office
- i. Information on tapes that he knew about break in
- ii. He doesn't have to give tapes
- d. Suggest executive privileges but limited
- Impeachment
- 1. Rare
- a. Only happened twice
- 2. House pass majority vote for impeachment and senate decides
- 3. Another thing that Congress can do to control president
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Office of Management and Budget
- 1. Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
- a. 2,000,000 people working for beauracracy
- b. Largest of group of people who comes into office with president
- c. Clears the President�s proposed legislation
- a. President would suggest what should be done
- b. Every time president does that, they take proposal and say how much it would cost and how much it would matter in future fiscal years
- c. Policy analysis for president
- d. To persuade members of congress that the policy is good
- d. Prepares the budget
- a. Presidents responsibility to prepare budget
- b. Goes around to every department and ask how much they need to implement laws Congress passed
- e. Administrative review of proposed rules
- a. Congress often doesn�t know much about specifics of law they are passing
- i. Details left up to federal beauracracy
- b. When fed beau finds way to implement law-->OMB
- c. Look at rule--> review-->consistent?-->allow rule to go into place or not
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�Honeymoon� period
- a. Period where at the beginning of presidency they are there and media coverage is positive and public support in high right after inauguration
- a. Month and a half to first couple of months
- b. Strike when iron is hot
- b. As time goes by, popularity decreases
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Rally around the flag effect
a. Specific events give support to president
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Signing statements (constitutional, interpretive, rhetorical)
- i. Signing statements
- a. Little statements that president attaches to piece of legislation and send to federal archives
- 1. Types
- a. Constitutional
- b. Interpretive
- i. How to take vague guideline to apply to executive branch
- c. Rhetorical
- i. Little shout out to people who worked hard to get the law passed
- ii. Frequent and rhetorical
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Presidential success in foreign affairs vs. domestic affairs
- i. President more likely to get what he wants in foreign affairs
- ii. Why?
- 1. He has more powers, more resources and fewer constraints when it comes to foreign policy than on domestic policy
- a. Commander in Chief
- a. Congress struggles to control military
- b. Both try to assert dominance but president is always commander and chief
- b. Information
- a. President has more control on foreign affairs
- b. Bargaining and strategic advantage
- 1. Reviewed info that you can't know
- 2. Only one who knows everything there is to know for intelligence
- i. State Department
- ii. CIA
- c. Secrecy
- a. President can do things without answering questions
- b. Can't reveal because it would harm national interest
- d. Congress focused on domestic policy
- a. Large gaping hole of authority that president steps into
- b. More Americans concerned in this country instead of others
- c. President does what he wants with foreign affairs
- e. Interest groups focused on domestic policy
- a. President goes to address foreign issues, he stands alone
- b. Interests groups: more people want their voice heard
- f. Public expectations
- a. Expect president to lead with foreign affairs, be most influential actor in domestic policy
- b. Congress should not do much, it should be the president
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�Going through Congress�
- 1. President knows problems and proposes solution, congress will agree and change proposal to pass
- 2. Strategy dependent on what Congress looks like
- 3. Members of congress are elected by cities
- a. Need to represent local constituency
- 4. Product is different than the input
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�Going above Congress�/�Going public�
- 1. Take case to people who elected you
- 2. President tries to appeal to voters
- 3. President can convince voters that policy and president is good on how to solve nation's problems
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�Going around Congress�
- a. President can still do a lot to influence what the law looks like because he is head of executive branch
- a. Take laws and implement them the way they believe should be
- b. President uses his power in order to implement laws that are most consistent with his preferences
- 1. Signing statements
- a. President give instructions to implement law
- 1. Executive orders
- a. Can be shut down by Congress or changed
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�Going under Congress�
- a. Illegal strategy
- b. President does not need to follow laws
- 1. Example: Iran-Contra
- a. Violating laws in order to accomplish goals
- b. Involved violation of (1) Arms Control Central Act (don�t sell weapons to Iran) and (2) Bolyn Amendmant (don�t give money to Contra)
- a. Sell weapons to Iran to get hostages
- b. Gave money to Contra after selling guns
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War Powers Resolution
- a. President can use military wherever he wants without Congressional authority for 60 days
- b. Must get congresses approval after 60 days
- c. Resolution of Congress that the president can send troops into action abroad only by authorization of Congress, or if American troops are already under attack or serious threat
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Executive oversight
- i. Oversee the executive branch (executive oversight)
- 1. Definition
- a. The effort by Congress, through hearings, investigations and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies
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Constituent service
- i. Represent your constituents
- a. 700,000 people that live close to each other for equal constituents
- b. Represent them in terms of the federal bureaucracy
- a. Keep job
- a. Have more votes than your opponent every 2 years
- b. Help them out when they have problem with federal government agency
- b. Presidential greetings
- c. Passports
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Enumerated powers
The enumerated powers are a list of items found in Article I, section 8 of the US Constitution that set forth the authoritative capacity of the United States Congress.
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Implied powers
those powers authorized by a legal document (from the Constitution) which, while not stated, seem to be implied by powers expressly stated.
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National debt
- i. National Debt
- a. Accumulation of problems
- b. China owes 2.3 trillion debt
- c. 6.1 trillion debt during Bush administration
- 1. Debt ceiling
- 1. Here's how much we can borrow
- 2. Limit on how much in terms of bonds and securities to sell and pay our bills
- 3. We hit our debt ceiling 40 times in the last 20 years
- a. Budget Control Act
- i. Increase debt ceiling to $15.3 trillion
- ii. Joint Super Committee to propose cuts or face triggers by 11/21
- b. Will triggers be triggered?
- i. One Congress cannot constrain another
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National deficit
- i. Budget Deficit
- a. Difference between what we taken in for revenue and what we spend
- b. Individual deficits accumulate to national debt
- c. Countries invest bonds and securities
- 1. History of deficits
- a. Comes from 2000-2008
- 2. Sources of deficits
- a. Recession, war, and tax cuts
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Sources of national deficit
a. Recession, war, and tax cuts
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Debt ceiling
- 1. Here's how much we can borrow
- 2. Limit on how much in terms of bonds and securities to sell and pay our bills
- 3. We hit our debt ceiling 40 times in the last 20 years
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Budget Control Act
- i. Increase debt ceiling to $15.3 trillion
- ii. Joint Super Committee to propose cuts or face triggers by 11/21
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Filibuster
- 1.� Any one senator can refuse to allow people to vote on a bill
- 2. Senate cannot vote on anything
- � A tactic used by members of the Senate to prevent action on legislation they oppose by continuously holding the floor and speaking until the majority backs down. Once given the floor, senators have unlimited time to speak, and it requires a vote 3/5 of the Senate to end a filibuster
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Cloture
- 1. Senate has to vote to make someone shut up
- 1. To win, need 60/100 senators to vote on breaking filibuster
- Tule allowing a majority of 2/3 or 3/5 of the members of legislative body to set a time limit on debate over a given bill
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Open rule
- 1. Allow almost everyone to speak about a bill and make amendments to the bill
- � Permits floor debate and the addition of new amendments to a bill
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Closed rule
- 1. Strict limits on how long to debate and few people can make changes
- � Limiting or prohibiting the introduction of amendments during debate
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Committee system (strengths and weaknesses)
- 2. Strengths
- a.� Expertise and experience
- b. Representation
- 3.� Weaknesses
- a.� Lack of major policy change
- b. Lack of responsiveness to majority
- d. Motivation to focus on local constituents � not national concerns
- i.�Main goal is to be re-elected
- 1.� Advertising
- � a.� Going around district to show how great they are
- a.� Franking privilege
- 1.� Free postage to send you all the junk mail they want
- a.� Need to keep job
- 2.� Position taking
- � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 3.� Credit claiming
- a. Taking credit for districts' accomplishments
- 4.� Pork barrel legislation/earmarks
- a. Channeling federal dollars to district
- a.� �Bridge to Nowhere�
- 1. Bridge decided to build in alaska
- � 1. Barely any people
- 5.� Blocking legislation
- � 1. Something going to pass to cause jobs to leave district or increase taxes, your job to prevent it
- � 1. Congress spend lots of time with things that have little to do about national election
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Standing committee
- a.� Standing committee
- 1.� Committee that exists across time
- 1.� Permanent
- 1.� Deal with persistent issues
- � i.� � � Examples:
- �1.� Agriculture
- � 2.� International Relations
- � 3.� Veteran�s Affairs
- � 4.� House Administration
- � 5.� Government Reform
- � 6.� Energy and Commerce
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Select committee
b. Select committee 1. Form to address particular problem after research i. Examples: 1. Select Committee on the Year 2000 Problem a. Computers guided by software and colossal error a. Year in 2 digits a. People thought the world will end because the computers will "break" and work against them 2. Committee to Investigate Iran-Contra Affair
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Joint committee
c. Joint committee a. Members of house and senate sit in this committee a. Permanent i. Economic ii. Taxation a. How much should we tax iii. Library a. Source of archiving iv. Printing a. printing of money
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Conference committee
- a.� Whenever bill passes through house and senate
- Joint committee created to work out a compromise on House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation
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Congressional Budget Office
1. Evaluates the President�s budget
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Incumbency advantage
-refers to the fact that congress people never lose when they run for reelection -can't leave unless you retire, die, or endited -95% of people in house of representatives will be reelected -85% senators reelected -congress is unpopular -only 8% of Americans think congress is doing a good job i. Why? -redistricting: who draws districts determine who wins the election1. Redistricting -redistricting: who draws districts determine who wins the electiona. Gerrymandering -determining what districts will look like -whoever runs 80% in district, that political party will win
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Pork barrel legislation
- a. Channeling federal dollars to district
- a.� �Bridge to Nowhere�1. Bridge decided to build in alaska1. Barely any people� -bringing home bacon to district channeling federal dollars back home� � � -can claim responsibility for the bridge, library, or whatever� Appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but they're created so that local representatives can win reelection in their home district
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Franking privilege
- � � � -let you know about how great they are
- � � � -communicate effectively to people who will vote for them
- � � � -can channel federal dollars back home and let everyone know about it for free
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Redistricting/Reapportionment � � �
- -redistricting: who draws districts determine who wins the election
- � Redistricting: The process of redrawing election districts and redistributing legislative representatives. This happens every 10 years to reflect shifts in population or in response to legal challenges to existing districts
- � Reapportionment: a process, occurring after every decennial census, that allocates congressional seats among the fifty states. Switch to fire all
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Gerrymandering
- -determining what districts will look like
- � � � -whoever runs 80% in district, that political party will win
- � Apportionment of voters in districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one racial or ethnic group or political party
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California Proposition 20
- -new system of allocating the system
- -legislative not creating congressional districts
- -people responsible for districts
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Individual rationality leading to collective irrationality in Congress
1. Individual congress people want to keep job and do what's best for the district
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Status quo bias in Congress
- 1.� Proponents of legislation have to win a sustained sequence of victories:
- a.� In subcommittee
- � �b. In committee
- c.� In Rules (in the House)
- � �d. In conference
- � �e.� On the floors of both chambers (repeatedly)
- f.� � In the White House
- -difficult to have significant policy change
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Judiciary Act of 1789
- -sets up federal court system
- -which cases go to which court
- -Congress conferred on the Supreme Court the power to reverse state constitutions and laws whenever they are clearly in conflict with the US Constitution, federal, or treaties
- -Gives Supreme Court appellate jurisdiction over all of the millions of cases that American courts handle each year
- � Congress conferred on the Supreme Court the power to reverse the constitutions and laws whenever they are clearly in conflict with the U.S. constitution, Federal laws, or treaties.
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Original jurisdiction
- -account for one or two cases a year out of 70
- -if one state sues another, goes straight to supreme court
- �the authority than to initially consider a case. Distinguish from appellate jurisdiction, which is the authority to hear appeals from a lower court's decision.
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Senatorial courtesy
The practice whereby the president, before formally nominating a person for a federal judgeship, seeks the indication that senators from the candidate's own state support the nomination
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Writ of certiorari
- -"to make more certain"
- -when court decides to hear a case
- -people petition court cases
- -4/9 justices must say if they will hear the case
- -choose to hear ones on important constitutional issues
- -disagreement between lower courts
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Amicus curiae brief
- � "friend of the court"
- � Individuals or groups who are not parties to a lawsuit but who seek to assist the Supreme Court in reaching a decision by presenting additional briefs
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Term limits (arguments for and against)
- � � � � -need system how long people can serve
- � � � � -apply to president
- � � � � -congress can stay as long as they want
- � � � i.� � � Arguments for:
- � � � � 1.� New candidates
- � � � � � � -Fresh class of people with new blood and new ideas
- � � � � � � -force new group of people to come in
- � � � � 2.� Changed behavior by representatives
- � � � � � � -people constantly worried about keeping their job
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US Term Limits, Inc. v. Thorton
- -us term limits was company that said " put constitutional limit on how many times a representative can run for house of representatives"
- � � � � � � -federal government should be the only ones who put term limits on congress
- � � � � � � -need to pass constitutional amendment
- � � � � � � -term limits gone
- � � � � 1.� Undemocratic
- � � � � � � -popular representatives should keep their job if that's what they wants
- � � � � 2.� Leads to inexperienced representatives
- � � � � � � -if you don't have to worry about being reelected you don't have to worry about doing something unpopular
- � � � 3.� Less responsiveness
- � � � � � � -term limits kick people out before they know enough to make good choices
- � � � � � � -takes time to learn about these things
- � � � � � � -stream of amateurs
- Supreme Court as the �least dangerous� branch
- � � � � a.� Cannot initiate action
- � � � � � � -court decides there problem, can't do anything unless there is a case
- � � � � � � -if law are unjust or incorrect, someone will sue and then can take action
- � � � � b. No purse
- � � � � � � -power to allocate money to raise money
- � � � � � � -only congress can decide what to spend money on
- � � � � � � -no control or influence on government
- � � � � � � -only can decide court cases
- � � � � c.� No sword
- � � � � � � -power to execute or implement laws
- � � � � � � -president can use FBI, CIA, or military to make sure people comply with his decisions
- � � � � � � � i.� � � Andrew Jackson: �Marshall [Chief Justice of the Supreme Court] made his decision now let him enforce it.�
- � � � � � � -point out weakness of the court
- � � � � � � -made decisions that Jackson does not like
- � � � � � � -Jackson realized he's the only one with the power of the sword
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Judicial review
- -power to strike down acts of congress, executive branch of being a violation of the constitution
- � � � � � � � � � -not asserted until early 1800s
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Marbury v. Madison
- -supreme court claims power of judicial review
- -we get to decide was is consistent with the constitution and compare
- -John Adams making appointments filling executive branch with people
- -William Marbury appointed right when Adams was going to leave office
- -fills out papers and he leaves them on desk to put in mail
- -next person is Thomas Jefferson� (hates Adams) and throws them in trash
- -sued James Madison for not delivering papers as the request of Jefferson
- -goes directly to supreme court (all conflicts over appointments can sue)
- -can't decide because no authority to decide case because federal judiciary act of 1789
- -changes original jurisdiction
- -constitution lists jurisdictions of court
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Stare decisis
- -stand by that which has already been decided
- � literally, "let the decision stand." The doctrine that a previous decision by a court applies as a precedent in similar cases until that decision is overruled
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Judicial activism
- judicial activism: courts should not be constrained what previous courts decided
- -not being worried that we should give them benefit of the doubt
- � judicial philosophy that posits that the court should go beyond the words of the constitution or statute to consider the broader societal implications of its decisions
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Judicial restraint
- -worried about it
- � � � -should be restrained by previous decisions
- � judicial philosophy whose adherants refuse to go beyond a clear words of the constitution in interpreting its meaning
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Roe v. Wade
- -based on a constitutional right to privacy that is not found in the words of the constitution but wise, rather, from the court's prior decision in Griswold vs. Connecticut
- � argued that the right to privacy was implied by other constitutional provision
- � the Supreme Court virtually prohibits states from interfering with the right of a woman to seek an abortion in sharply curtailed state restrictions on voting rights
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Lawrence v. Texas
- � the 2003 decision that a Texas statute making it a crime for two persons of the same sex to engage in consensual sex conduct violated the due process clause
- � it stands at least one aspect of civil liberties to sexual minorities: the rights of privacy
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Brown v. Board of Education
- � redefined the rights of the African
- � the court overturns that stautes from Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware that either required or permitted segregated public schools on the basis that such statutes denied black schoolchildren equal protection of the law
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