40 vocab words
Sarah Standley
Perjury
• Definition: Lying under oath
• Sentence: the women committed perjury when
she lied in court.
Pork barrel legislation
• Definition: laws congress pass to appropriate
money or local federal projects.
• Sentence: the pork barrel legislation allows the
school to be remodeled.
Expressed powers
• Definition: Enumerated powers
• Sentence: Expressed powers are found in
article 1 of the constitution.
Necessary and proper
clause
• Definition: States that congress has powers
beyond those stated in the first 17 clauses.
• Sentence: necessary and proper laws give
congress the power to make laws
Appropriations bill
• Law proposed to authorize spending money
• The appropriations bill allowed the country to
spend money
Interstate commerce
• Commerce among states
• Interstate commerce regulates relations with
states.
25 amendment
• When the vp office becomes empty, the
president appoints a replacement
• The 25 amendment makes it impossible for
there to not be a Vice President
Rider
• An addition or an amendment to a document.
• Over the years the leaders our our country have
added riders to the constitution.
Veto
• When a president refuses to sign a bill.
• The president vetoed the bill he though was
unconstitutional.
Standing committee
• A permanent committee
• The standing committee is permanent.
Select committee
• Temporary committee
• The select committee won't be around for long
Joint committee
• Committee made of members of both
chambers.
• The joint committee is a bicameral legislature.
Cloture
• Closes a debate
• The cloture ended the long debate about the
country's debt.
Ways and means
committee
• Has total jurisdiction on taxation, tariffs, and
revenue raising bills.
• The ways and means committee cannot serve
in any other committee.
Appropriation
• Approval of government spending
• Appropriation is congressional responsibility
Lobbying
• Work lobbyist do to persuade and support
their views
• Lobbying is a form of campaigning.
PACs
• Political action committees
• The PAC is a fundraising committee.
Concurrent resolution
• Does with matters where laws aren't needed.
• The concurrent resolution was accepted by
both houses.
Speaker of the house
• Member who runs the meeting.
• The speaker of the house is in line to become
president.
Great compromise
• Bicameral legislator with the House of
Representatives based on population, and
senate with equal representation.
• The great compromise is still being used
today.
Necessary and proper
clause
• Allows congress to make all laws that to be
necessary and proper
• The necessary and proper clause is also
called the elastic clause.
Federalism
• The system of government in which the
national government and local share power.
• Federalism takes a lot of compromise
Confederation
• A system in which many decisions are made
by an external member state legislation.
• The confederation made new laws.
Reserved powers
• Powers that are only for the states.
• Reserved powers give the states power.
Concurrent powers
• Powers shared by the nation and the states
• Concurrent powers distribute the power.
Judicial review
• Power of Supreme Court to declare laws and
actions unconstitutional.
• Judicial review is part of the checks and
balance system.
Conservative
• The belief that individuals should be
responsible for their own well being and not
rely on the government.
• Conservative people are mostly related to the
Republican Party.
Liberal
• Belief that the government should be used to
remedy the social and economical injustices
of the marketplace.
• Liberals support government regulation of the
economy.
Political parties
• Group of people with common political goals.
• The America there are two main political
parties.
Super Tuesday
• Tuesday in March in which many primaries are
held.
• The next primary will be held on Super
Tuesday
Electoral college
• Created by the framers as a mean of
insulating the government from whims of less
educated people
• The electoral college is still used to this day.
Voting rights act of
1965
• Encouraged states to take measures to
increase minority representation in congress
• The voting rights act of 1965 happened during
the civil right movement.
Earmarks
• Provisions within legislation that appropriate
money to a specific project
• Earmarks regulate money.
Pocket veto
• When the president doesn't sign a bill during
the ten days before a congressional session
ends.
• The pocket veto had been pending for 12
days.
Plea bargaining
• Agreement with prosecution to a less serious
crime and sentence.
• The suspect plea bargained with the judge.
Appellate jurisdiction
• Can only decide issues of laws not the facts of
the case.
• The appellate jurisdiction was only facts.
Judicial restraint
• When judges are reluctant to overturn the acts
of legislature
• The judge didn't know want to overturn the
new law so he practiced judicial restraint.
Judicial activist
• A judge who has no qualms overturning
legislature
• The judicial activist agreed with the new law.
Writ of certiorari
• legal document used to request the lower
court transcript
• The writ of certiorari requested for the new law
to be passed.