POL 106 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Appellate Jurisdiction, Executive Privilege, Limited Government
30 Jun 2018
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POL 106 – EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE (weeks 7-11; chapters 6-10)
*NOTE: Not everything on this study guide will be on the exam and not everything on the
exam is on this study guide. This study guide is exactly that, a guide.
1) What are the primary functions/powers of Congress?
a. Represent the citizens that live in the areas they represent
b. Oversight responsibilities
b.i. Passing legislation that could become law
b.ii. Whether they feel the bureaucracy that they are being represented
b.iii. Act in judicial fashion – impeachment
c. Electoral powers
2) U.S. Congress is made up of _____ voting members.
a. 535 total
b. Congress is bicameral. What does this mean?
b.i. Composed of two houses
b.i.1. Senate
b.i.2. House of reps
3) There are 435 voting members in the U.S. House of Representatives.
a. They serve 2 year terms
b. There are 6 non-voting members
c. The presiding officer of the chamber is the speaker of the house.
4) There are 100 members of the U.S. Senate.
a. They serve 6 year terms
b. Vice president serves as the President of the Senate.
5) What is “unified government”?
a. Period in which the executive and legislative branches of the government are
controlled by the same political party
b. What is “divided government”?
b.i. Political deadlock resulting when Congress and the White House are
controlled by different political parties
6) There are three characteristics of recent legislative sessions. What are they?
a. Longevity
a.i. Members of congress as career politicians regardless of calls for an end to
careerism in Congress
b. Polarization and party unity
b.i. Members of congress increasingly hold more extreme political views
b.i.1. Far left or far right
c. Public discontent
c.i. Continuously plummeting public approval rates
7) Understand the spectrum of the leg. branch’s attitude towards the exec. branch.
a. Compliance
a.i. Congress complies with administration’s proposal/agenda
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find more resources at oneclass.com
b. Resistance
b.i. Congress modifies administration’s proposal/agenda
b.ii. Deliver outcome that is either more or less than administration wanted
c. Rejection
c.i. Congress refuses to enact administration’s proposal
d. Independence
d.i. Congress goes beyond rejection and creates their own proposal/agenda
8) Review the sources of congressional voting behavior
a. Party affiliation
b. Presidential influence
c. Influence of constituents
d. Interest groups’ influence
e. Personal values
9) Review the different leadership and domestic roles of the president.
a. Head of state
b. Head of gov.
c. Establish priorities for the nation
d. Maintaining a healthy economy
e. Chief executive
f. Veto power
10) The Constitution grants the president 10 days to review a measure passed by Congress.
11) What is a regular veto?
a. Reject laws passed by congress
b. When the president refuses to sign a bill, and returns the bill complete with
objections to Congress within 10 days
c. How does Congress override the veto?
c.i. 2/3 vote within two chambers – both the house and senate
12) What is a pocket veto?
a. When the president receives a bill from Congress but is unable to reject and return
the bill to Congress within 10 days because Congress is not in session
b. When it occurs, does the bill become law?
b.i. No, because congress was not in session so the president cannot give his
rejections
13) What is executive privilege?
a. Gives the president the right to withhold information from other branches of
government
b. Has access to information the other government does not
14) President is the only elected official that has a national constituency.
15) Revisit the different presidential constraints.
a. Bureaucracy
a.i. Large and entrenched
a.ii. Unresponsive to president and staff
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Pol 106 exam 2 study guide (weeks 7-11; chapters 6-10) *note: not everything on this study guide will be on the exam and not everything on the exam is on this study guide. This study guide is exactly that, a guide: what are the primary functions/powers of congress, represent the citizens that live in the areas they represent, oversight responsibilities b. i. Whether they feel the bureaucracy that they are being represented b. iii. Act in judicial fashion impeachment: electoral powers, u. s. congress is made up of _____ voting members, 535 total, congress is bicameral. Political deadlock resulting when congress and the white house are controlled by different political parties: there are three characteristics of recent legislative sessions. Members of congress as career politicians regardless of calls for an end to careerism in congress: polarization and party unity b. i. Members of congress increasingly hold more extreme political views b. i. 1. Far left or far right: public discontent c. i.
