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Review for Congress-Presidency-Bureaucracy-Policy Test

(the horror, the horror)

    (I love the smell of assessment in the morning, it smells like . . . learning)

(A test tougher than diamonds, harder than nails, more painful than French kissing a belt sander)

Parliamentary history

How the US Congress differs from other parliaments

Nature of Representation

            Sociological – What is it? Evidence? Impact?

            Agency -- What is it? Evidence? Impact?

            Party -- What is it? Evidence? Impact?

Incumbency advantage – how big is it?

            Franking

            Pork barrel

            Case Work

                        Private bills

            Name recognition

            Special interest group contributions

            Discourages qualified candidates

            Can mean fewer women and racial minorities run for Congress

Powers of Congress

            Legislative Supremacy – what is it?

            Law making

            “Power of the purse” – line-item veto

            Oversight

            Override a veto

            “Advise and consent” of the Senate

            Impeachment

            Congressional bureaucracy – GAO and the Congressional Budget Office

Process of lawmaking

            Standing Committees (House and Senate)

                        Amendments, riders and “Christmas Tree” bills

Rules Committee (House)

            Closed rule and open rule

Floor debates (scheduling and impact)

            Log rolling

Conference Committee

Presidential veto and the veto override

Path of appropriations bills

Organization of Congress

            Speaker of the House – powers of

            Majority Leader of the Senate – powers of

            President Pro Tempore of the Senate – powers of

            Minority Leader (House and Senate) – powers of

            Whips – powers of

            Caucus

Difference of House and Senate

            Terms

            Numbers of

            Procedural differences

                        Filibuster and cloture

            House – Census, reapportionment, and redistricting

            Senate – Election by state legislatures, 17th amendment

Bills, joint resolutions, resolutions, concurrent resolutions, private bills

Presidential powers

            In Re Neagle

            Veto, pocket veto, and veto override

            Treaties, Senate confirmation, executive agreements, recognition    of ambassadors

Commander in Chief, declarations of war, War Powers Act, the domestic use of the military

            Impoundment and the line-item veto

            State of the Union address

Cabinet, National Security Council, Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, White House Staff

Role of the Vice President and “balancing the ticket”

Pardons and amnesties

Perma-polling, the permanent campaign, and the rallying effect

The historical dominance of Congress and the rise of a President-centered government

Delegation of power as a means of empowering the president

The media and the White House

Bureaucracy

            Definition and characteristics of a bureaucracy

            The function of “red tape” and paperwork in a bureaucracy

            The size of growth of the federal bureaucracy

            Problems with political controls on the bureaucracy

            Assets for political controls on the bureaucracy

            The various bureaucracies and what they do

            The Freedom of Information Act