Unit 3 – WGU C963 American Politics, Study Guide Full Coverage, latest Update, Graded A+.

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Unit 3 – WGU C963 American Politics, Study Guide Full Coverage, latest Update, Graded A+. Congressional Powers - ✔✔-1.Tax citizens 2.Set the budget 3.Regulate commerce 4.Declare war ... 5.Provide advice and consent on appointments 6.Impeach individuals 7.Oversee the powers of the judicial and executive branches Inherent Power - ✔✔-A power of the president derived from the statements in the Constitution that "the executive Power shall be vested in a President" and that the president should "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"; defined through practice rather than through law. Congress Oversight - ✔✔-Power to investigate/review bureaucratic agencies and bureaus to ensure they are implementing the laws as intended Marbury v. Madison (1803) - ✔✔-Established judicial review; "midnight judges;" John Marshall; power of the Supreme Court. Which of these statements is correct about Congress's oversight authority? Select the one correct answer. Oversight is limited to its power of impeachment. Oversight is specifically mentioned in Article I, Section 8. Oversight is largely ineffective, because Congress lacks any authority over the executive branch. Oversight is not a specifically enumerated power, but rather is implied in Article I. - ✔✔-Oversight is not a specifically enumerated power, but rather is implied in Article I. There is no specific "power of oversight" written into the Constitution, but it is implied in many constitutional provisions, including Congress's power of the purse, advice and consent, and the power of impeachment. United States v. Lopez (1995) - ✔✔-The national government's power under the commerce clause does not permit it to regulate matters not directly related to interstate commerce (in this case, banning firearms in a school zone) Which of these is an example of Congress's exercising its power under the Commerce Clause? Select the one correct answer. Prohibiting the presence of guns in school zones Regulating the working conditions and hours of minors employed in factories Requiring that bus lines serve all customers equally Establishing uniform standards for restaurant sanitation and hygiene - ✔✔-Requiring that bus lines serve all customers equally Bus lines serve interstate commerce, which can be regulated by Congress. Which of these is a true statement concerning federal income tax? Select the one correct answer. Federal income tax is equally applied to all taxpayers at a "flat" tax rate. Federal income tax required the ratification of a constitutional amendment, after the Supreme Court ruled that a previous attempt to tax income was unconstitutional. Federal income tax has always been the federal government's primary source of revenue. Federal income tax was constitutionally authorized by Congress's Article I powers. - ✔✔-Federal income tax required the ratification of a constitutional amendment, after the Supreme Court ruled that a previous attempt to tax income was unconstitutional. Since previous congressional attempts to tax income were not "apportioned," the Supreme Court ruled they were unconstitutional. The Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution permitted Congress to tax income without regard to apportionment. Committees - ✔✔-A small set of representatives tasked with considering, researching,introducing, and investigating particular policy areas. Discretionary Spending - ✔✔-Spending that can be altered from year to year through the appropriations process. Budget Resolution - ✔✔-A model of what the government plans to spend and take in as revenue over the next fiscal year. Includes a set of budgets, priorities, and discretionary spending limits. Pork-Barrel Spending - ✔✔-A provision in a bill that benefits a specific congressional constituency Line-Item Veto - ✔✔-The ability of the President to reject specific portions of a piece of legislation rather than reject an entire piece of legislation. Ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court. What is the major difference between congressional budget committees and appropriations committees? Select the one correct answer. While the budget committees set overall spending limits, the appropriation committees are responsible for recommending specific allocations of funds. There is no difference; these are just different names for the same committees. While the president may veto individual sections of appropriations bills, he may not veto budget resolutions. The congressional budget committees are less powerful because the president, not the Congress, has ultimate control over the federal budget. - ✔✔-While the budget committees set overall spending limits, the appropriation committees are responsible for recommending specific allocations of funds. The Appropriations process allocates specific funds, or specific spending authority, while the budget process is concerned with the "big picture." Interstate Commerce Clause - ✔✔-Enumerated power that congress has the power to regulate commerce between all foreign nations and between the states. How has the Constitution's Interstate Commerce Clause been interpreted? Select the one correct answer. Very narrowly, giving Congress power to stop states from charging fees to other states, but not much else As giving Congress the authority to regulate trade with foreign nations As granting the early 19th century Congress the power to outlaw the slave trade Very broadly, forming the justification for much of Congress's modern-day economic regulation - ✔✔- Very broadly, forming the justification for much of Congress's modern-day economic regulation Congress has relied on the Interstate Commerce Clause as support for its authority to pass such economic legislation as minimum wage laws. Which of these statements is true about Congress's power to coin money? Select the one correct answer. Congress's power to coin money is limited to "coining" with precious metals; Congress may print paper money, but may not force anyone to accept it. Congress's power to coin money is an implied, not an enumerated power; the power to establish currency is inherent in sovereignty. Congress's power to coin money existed under the Articles of Confederation as well as under the 1787 Constitution. Congress's power to coin money gives it the authority to print paper money and to force creditors to accept that paper money, according to the Supreme Court. - ✔✔-Congress's power to coin money gives it the authority to print paper money and to force creditors to accept that paper money, according to the Supreme Court. In the Legal Tender Cases, the Supreme Court said that Congress could print paper money and make it "legal tender," forcing creditors to accept it. Under the Constitution, who has the power related to war and peace? Select the one correct answer. The power over war and peace is shared by the president and both houses of Congress The power over war and peace is shared by the president and the Senate. The power over war and peace is exercised solely by Congress The power over war and peace is exercised solely by the president - ✔✔-The power over war and peace is shared by the president and both houses of Congress Both houses of Congress are involved in the decision to "declare war," but the Constitution makes the president the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Impeachment - ✔✔-An action by the House of Representatives to accuse the president, vice president, or other civil officers of the United States of committing "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." Supermajority - ✔✔-a number greater than simply more than 50 percent, such as two-thirds Filibuster - ✔✔-A rule only permitted in the US Senate that allows a member of the Senate to prevent action on a bill or vote by continuously speaking. Impeachment is a "check" that any of the three branches of government may use to restrain an abuse of power in any of the other branches. Impeachment is something that has never happened to a U.S. president. Impeachment is removal from office as a result of a formal accusation by the Senate. Impeachment is a formal accusation of treason, bribery or other "high crime or misdemeanor" made by the House before a trial is held in the Senate. - ✔✔-Impeachment is a formal accusation of treason, bribery or other "high crime or misdemeanor" made by the House before a trial is held in the Senate. Impeachment is a formal accusation made by the House of Representatives, and precedes a trial in the Senate. Administrative Agencies - ✔✔-governmental bodies formed to carry out particular laws Powers of the Legislative Branch Lesson Summary - ✔✔-*While not exhaustive, the powers just discussed will give you a good idea about what the framers of the Constitution decided Congress should do. Many of the powers granted to Congress were meant to correct some of the deficiencies of the Articles of Confederation; most of the powers are explicit in the Constitution's text although the power of oversight is implied. *As a reminder, some of the key expressed powers of Congress include the power to tax, the power to regulate commerce, the power to borrow money and coin money, the power to declare war, the power to give advice and consent, and the power to impeach the president and judicial officials Majority Party - ✔✔-The political party in Congress that has the most seats in each chamber. Minority Party - ✔✔-The political party in Congress that has the fewest seats in each chamber. Speaker of the House - ✔✔-The elected leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives who serves as the chief presiding officer. Majority Leader - ✔✔-The second in command in the House of Representatives; works closely with the Speaker of the House. Minority Leader - ✔✔-The elected leader of the minority party Majority Whip - ✔✔-A leadership position from whose job it is to help coordinate strategy among the members of their political party. Minority Whip - ✔✔-A leadership position whose job it is to help coordinate strategy among the members of their political party President Pro Tempore - ✔✔-The person in the Senate who serves as the Chief Presiding Officer in the absence of the Vice President, ceremoniously given to the longest-serving senator of the majority party. Which of these functions do congressional committees serve? Select the one correct answer. Congressional committees save Congress time because a finance bill only needs to be approved by the Finance Committee and not the whole chamber. Congressional committees fulfill a constitutional requirement that Congress divide itself into committees. Congressional committees ensure that all voices are heard on bills, as committee seats are usually evenly divided between the parties. Congressional committees allow members of Congress to become experts on selected matters by concentrating their work on a few committees. - ✔✔-Congressional committees allow members of Congress to become experts on selected matters by concentrating their work on a few committees. Members of Congress will usually focus their work on committees that are of interest to their constituents. Standing Committee - ✔✔-Permanent committees that exist from session to session for the purpose of researching, writing,and introducing proposed pieces of legislation Select Committees - ✔✔-Temporary congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose, such as impeachment investigations or the "Super Committee" on the Budget Joint Committees - ✔✔-Committees that have both members of the House of Representatives and the Senate serving and working together Conference Committees - ✔✔-A type of joint committee whose job it it to form one unified bill of different versions of the same piece of legislation passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate to be sent to the President. Rules of Committee - ✔✔-The committee that determines the parameters for debate and amendments to a piece of legislation, the Rules Committee has more power in the House of Representatives than it does in the Senate What is a key role of standing committees in the House and the Senate? Select the one correct answer. To appropriate money for various projects To confirm the nominations of the president To guarantee input from the minority party To give a detailed hearing to all proposed legislation - ✔✔-To give a detailed hearing to all proposed legislation The committees provide a necessary division of labor for both houses of Congress. Which of these statements describes one major difference between a joint committee and a conference committee? Select the one correct answer. The name only. They are simply different terms used to describe the same thing. A conference committee meets to consider one specific piece of legislation that has been passed in different forms in the two houses; a joint committee can be permanent. A joint committee has members of both houses serving on it; a conference committee does not. Conference committees are usually created by statutes, while joint committees are usually created by the rules of the House and Senate. - ✔✔-A conference committee meets to consider one specific piece of legislation that has been passed in different forms in the two houses; a joint committee can be permanent. A conference committee has one purpose only—to unify competing versions of a bill that has passed both houses of Congress. Cloture - ✔✔-A procedural mechanism whereby 60 members (three fifths) of the entire Senate vote to end a filibuster Which of these statements describes a key difference between the House Rules Committee and the Senate Rules Committee? Select the one correct [Show More]

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