A | B |
executive article | Article II of the Constitution |
oath of office | oath taken by the President on the day he takes office |
executive order | directive issued by the President having the force of law |
executive agreement | pact made by the President with the head of a foreign state |
line-item veto | a President's cancellation of specific dollar amounts from a Congressional spending bill |
reprieve | postponement of the execution of a sentence |
pardon | release from the legal consequences of a crime |
clemency | mercy or leniency granted to an offender by the President |
commutation | the power to reduce the length of a sentence |
amnesty | a blanket pardon offered to a group of law violators |
bureaucracy | a large, complex administrative structure |
fiscal year | a 12 month period used by the government for record-keeping and budgeting |
domestic affairs | all matters not directly related to foreign affairs |
executive departments | the Cabinet departments |
secretary | official in charge of a Cabinet department |
attorney general | the head of the Department of Justice |
independent executive agency | agencies headed by a single administrator, but lacking Cabinet status |
independent regulatory commission | independent agencies created by Congress to regulate parts of the economy before Presidential control |
civil service | civilian employees who perform the administrative work of the government |
spoils system | the practice of giving governmental offices and favors to political supporters and friends |
patronage | the practice of giving jobs to supporters and friends |
quasi-legislative | having to do with powers that are to some extent legislative |
quasi-judicial | having to do with powers that are to some extent judicial |
register | a record or list of names kept by an official appointed to do so |
bipartisan | supported by two parties |