| A | B |
|---|
| Executive Order | issued by the president they have the force of law but can be overriden by congress or declared unconstitutional. |
| Executive Agreement | signed by the president and a foreign head of state it does not have to be ratified by the senate but only lasts as long as that president is in office |
| Executive Privilege | right of the president and his staff to withhold information from courts or congress. Designed to give pres confidentiality in his staff. |
| White House Office | The close assistants to the president who work specifically for him and not as a representative of another agency |
| Executive offfice of the President (EOP) | a group of agencies supporting the president not housed in a cabinet department. They perform specific services and tasks and vary in their closeness to the president |
| The Cabinet | the 15 major service departments of the US government |
| The Office of Management and Budget | agency in the EOP that prepares the President's budget that he submits to Congress |
| Independent Executive Agencies | Agencies not in a cabinet dept that report directly to the president (ex CIA, EPA). |
| Independent Regulatory Agencies | Independent agencies that regulate a certain aspect of the country or economy. Pres appoints their head but they serve for fixed terms (ex Fed Reserve, FCC, SEC) |
| National Security Council | committee that meets with the president representing various interests in national security policy. |
| Government Corporation | businesses owned by the federal government and run for profit (ex. USPS, Amtrak) |
| Pendleton Act | (aka civil sevice reform act) established that government jobs be awarded on basis of competitve examinations |
| Hatch Act | limited the political activity of federal employees. Designed to prevent people in executive branch from being pressured to support a certain candidate or party |
| National Perfomrance Review | Reorganization effort by the Clinton Admininstration to try to make government more efficient |
| Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 | split the civil service commission into two new agencies the OPM and Merit Systems Protection Board |
| Office of Personel and Management | agency that administers civil service exams and makes recommendations on who agencies should hire |
| Merit Systems Protection Board | Agency that investigates wrongdoing in the executive branch. Designed to protect the integrity of the civil service system |
| Privatization | reform attempt that would turn over services provided by the government to private companies |
| Chief of Staff | head of the White House Office, manages the White House Staff |
| Iron Triangle | Three way alliance between Agencies, Congressional Committees and Interest groups that many say dictates policy |
| Branti v Finkel | made it illegal to fire a bureaucrat for political reasons |
| Sunset Laws | provisions added to bills that only allowed agencies to exist for a set time period. |
| Iron Triangle | when one interest group, congressional committee and regulatory agency all dominate a policy |
| Issue network | the idea that policy is set by competing interest groups and not one Iron triangle |
| Chief Diplomat | the presidents role as the main negotiator in foreign affairs |
| Diplomatic recognition | the power of the president to reconginze a foreign government as legitimate |
| Chief of State | the idea that the President represents the "dignity and majesty" of the American people |
| Commander in Chief | gives the president power over the US military forces |
| War powers Resolution | act enacted to prevent the President from waging war without an eventual authorization from Congress |
| Coalition Builder | the preisent's role in building teams to support his policy agenda |
| Recruiter | role where the President chooses talented people to serve in key positions |
| Crisis Manager | informal role where the people look to the President in times of trouble |
| Executive agreement | agreement between the President and a foreign government that is not binding to other Presidents |
| Impeachment | to bring charges against the PResident it is done by th House of Representatives |
| Convicition on Articles of Impeachment | requires a 2/3 vote in the Senate and is the trial for the impeachment proceedings |
| US v Nixon | limited use of executive privilege in criminal cases |
| Inherent powers | powers that the president possesses that just seem to go along with the job (ex. Louisiana Purchase) |
| Honeymoon period | early in a President's first term when he is most likely to accomplish his policy goals |
| Midterm curse | idea that presidents usually suffer a loss in popularity during the middle of their terms |
| Lame duck period | time when it is known that the President won't be returning for another term and he lacks effectiveness but does not fear consequences of certain actions |
