Gotta Knows: Government Institutions Congress

Powers from the Constitution (enumerated and

implied)

Constitutional requirements to serve in both houses

House powers: e.g. revenue bills, deciding

presidential elections

Senate powers: e.g. Treaty ratification,

confirmation

Impeachment protocol (HOUSE impeaches and

SENATE removes by 2/3 vote)

How a bill becomes law

Committees

House Rules Committee

Chair and Ranking membership

Congressional leadership (both House and Senate);

powers and responsibilities

Filibusters and cloture

Casework

Oversight

Pork/earmarks

Congressional districts

Reapportionment

Redistricting

Gerrymandering

“Marginal” v. “safe” districts

Power of incumbency

Midterms and influence of presidency

o Ex. 1994 “Republican Revolution”

Pay and perks (e.g. franking)

CBO

Constituents

Trustee v. Delegate philosophy

Term limits

Checks on presidency (e.g. override)

Checks on SCOTUS (e.g. confirmation, size)

Checks on bureaucracy (e.g. budget, oversight)

Presidency

Constitutional requirements

Selection via electoral college

Significance of 22nd

and 25th Amendments

Types of vetoes (e.g. regular v. pocket v. line-item)

How effective is the veto threat?/chance of

congressional override?

When can a bill become law without a signature?

Head of State- what does that mean?

Diplomatic powers (e.g. executive agreements,

treaty negotiation)

Cabinet v. White House Staff

White House organizational style

Unified v. divided government

“Lame duck”

Executive orders

Executive privilege

State of the Union

Bully pulpit

Importance of approval ratings

“First 100 days”/”Honeymoon period”

Commander in Chief

War Powers Resolution

Reprieves, pardons, and commutations

Influences on foreign/domestic policy

Vice president

National Security Council

Bureaucracy

Civil service

Patronage/spoils system

Merit system/principle

Pendleton Act

How do political appointees get hired?

How do civil servants get hired?

Who can the president fire in the bureaucracy?

How does Congress check the bureaucracy?

Know the various types of bureaucratic entities-

e.g. the characteristics and examples of:

o Cabinet departments

o Independent executive agencies

o Independent regulatory agencies

o Government corporations

Why do independent regulatory agencies (e.g. EPA,

FEC, FCC) have quasi-government powers?

(remember judge/jury/executioner talk)

How does the bureaucracy implement government

policy?

Discretionary authority

Why does bureaucracy continue to expand?

Common criticisms of bureaucracy

Agency capture

How bureaucracy fits/benefits from “iron triangles”

Sunshine legislation

Sunset legislation

Deregulation/privatization/fragmentation effects

SCOTUS and Federal Judiciary

Judicial activism v. judicial restraint/constraint

Strict v. loose constructionism

Marbury v. Madison

Judicial review

Be familiar with Marshall, Warren, Burger, and

Rehnquist courts

o E.g. Types of cases decided, ideological

shifts

Gotta Knows: Government Institutions Number of justices

How appointed and removed

Layers of court system (District/Appeals/SCOTUS

etc.)- what type of activities might be likely at each

level?

Original v. appellate jurisdiction

How do state courts fit in?

Criminal v. civil courts

Rule of Four

Writ of Certiorari

Conference

Types of decisions

Law clerks- use and influence

Influences on court (e.g. ideology, public)

Amicus curiae

Precedent

Standing

Stare decisis

Politics of judicial selection

Senatorial courtesy

Famous cases