| A | B |
|---|
| ambassador | a government official sent to another nation to officially represent one's own nation. |
| bicameral | a legislature has two houses. Proposed laws must pass both houses to actually become law. |
| bill | in the lawmaking process, a proposed law in written form, ready for discussion and a vote. |
| budget | a written plan of how money will be spent, and where the money will come from. |
| bureaucracy | government offices and the people who work in them. |
| Cabinet | the group of top-level advises the president. They are heads of the large federal agencies(such as the Department of Defense and the Department of the Treasury). They are appointed by the president, but must be approved by Congress. |
| checks and balances | the rukes in the Constitution that give each branch of government the power to stop or limit unwise actions by the other branches. Example: the president can veto a law passed by Congress |
| confirm | to officially aprove |
| Congress | the legislative(lawmaking) branch of government at the national (federal) level. It consists of the House of Rpresentatives and the Senate. |
| Convene | to call a meeting |
| executive branch | the branch of government which executes (carries out) laws made by the legislative branch. At the national level, the executive branch is headed by the president. |
| expressed powers | powers of the national government that are actually listed in the Constitution. Example: Congress has the power to declar war. (These are also sometimes called enumerated powers.) |
| federalism | a design for government that divides or shares power between a national level and the state level. Example: The United States |
| House of Representatives | the part of Congress with 435 elected members |
| impeach | the power of Congress to accuse a president or a federal judge of wrongdoing, and remove the personfrom office if they are found guilty. |
| implied powers | powers of Congress not actually listed in the Constitution, but implied by a power that is listed. Example: The power create a draft of men for the army is implied by the expressed power given to Congress to create an army. |
| judicial branch | the branch of government that includes the courts |
| judicial review | the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws unconstitutional. |
| legislative branch | the lawmaking branch of government. Example: Congress |
| legislature | the lawmaking body of a government. Example: Congress |
| levies | taxes or fees the government charges. |
| nominate | to put up for consideration or select a person for a government position |
| policy | a plan of action designed to bring about a particular end result or effect. In government, policies are usually carried out by passing laws. |
| president | the head of the executive branch or the national (federal) government. |
| regulate | to control or create rules for. |
| revenue | money that government collects in taxes and fees |
| senate | the house of Congress with 100 elected members |
| separation of powers | the dividing of government power into branches, so no one branch can gain too much power and abuse it. |
| State of the Union Address | a speech made by the president that highlights issues and policies that the president would like Congress to deal with. |
| Supreme Court | the highest court in the judicial branch |
| veto | the power of the president to block a law passed by Congress. |
