- agency: an independent government organization that is responsible for specific government functions (e.g. the EPA). The President generally oversees these and Congress provides funding for them.
- Bankruptcy: When the US can no longer pay its bills. Likely followed by the American dollar becoming worthless, the US government collapsing and people having to resort to growing their own food and trading to survive.
- bill: A law proposed by Congress. A bill becomes law when it is approved by the House of Representatives, the Senate and the President. Bills are first voted on in the House of Representatives.
- Budget: Financial plan by Congress to spend X amount of dollars, based on the expected X amount of tax dollars that will be collected in the next year. The current budget can be found under the summary tables at The Whitehouse website.
- bureaucracy: The name for all of the non-elected government employees in government.
- bureaucrat: The name for someone that works for the government and is not elected.
- cabinet: All of the members of the President's inner council.
- committee: small groups in Congress that specialize in certain areas to negotiate and write bills (i.e. Armed Services committee). Once a bill is accepted by the group, it is "voted out of committee," so it can be voted on by the rest of Congress.
- Congress: The Legislative branch of government. Composed of the Senate and House of Representatives. The powers of Congress are outlined in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. They make the laws.
- Debt limit: An artificial ceiling on the national debt that Congress has imposed on itself. Prevents the US from borrowing more money, until it is raised. Requires a majority vote by Congress to increase.
- Default: When the US government fails to pay the interest on the national debt.
- Deficit: When the government takes in less in taxes than it spends in one year. This is equivalent to you spending more on your credit card than you make. Not to be confused with the national debt.
- Democracy: A system of government where every law is directly passed by the majority of people. The US is not a Democracy. (See: Republic)
- DNC: Democratic National Committee
- filibuster: A rule in the Senate that requires 60 Senators to vote on a bill in order for it to pass. Only in effect if a Senator states that they are "filibustering." Can theoretically be overriden by the "constitutional option."
- GOP: Abbreviation stands for the "Grand Old Party." Another name for the Republican party. Founded by anti-slavery advocates and passed the Civil Rights Act of 1963. Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president.
- Governor: The elected leader of a state.
- House of Representatives: Composed of 435 representatives, divided evenly based on the populations of each state to give bigger states an advantage. Considered the "Lower body" of Congress, because its members serve for 2 year terms and are more often the target of the emotions of the People.
- law: Rules and guidelines written by Congress.
- line-item veto: This proposed power would give the President the power to veto a single section of a bill. This would help to eliminate pork-barrel spending.
- mandate: endorsement by a majority of people for a set of policy proposals.
- National debt: The total amount the US government owes to the world. Also known as the "public debt." The current national debt can be found at www.usdebtclock.org.
- partisan: group or individual that is firmly biased toward one political party.
- pork-barrel spending: the use of riders to attach spending to critical bills that only benefit a single or few politicians. (Example: Iowa Senator attaches a rider to an annual budget bill, to subsidize corn farmers in his home-state. The budget bill must be passed immediately or the US will default.)
- POTUS: Abbreviation for "President of the United States."
- President: Must be 35 years old, a natural born citizen and have lived in the US for 14 years. Elected by the people for a 4 year term and can only serve a maximum of 2 terms. Forms the Executive branch of government. The powers of the President are outlined in Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution. The President enforces the laws.
- Representative: Must be 25 years old, a resident of the state and a US citizen for 7 years. Elected by the people for a 2 year term. Can be reelected indefinitely. Serves in the House of Representatives of Congress.
- Republic: A system of government where the people choose elected officials to represent them and make laws.
- rider: A piece of legislation attached to a larger bill that is unrelated to the major bill being passed. These are added, because the smaller bill is unpopular with the majority of Congress, but will get passed due to the urgency of the larger bill. (See: pork-barrel spending)
- RNC: Republican National Committee
- Senate: Composed of 100 senators, 2 senators per state to give smaller states an advantage. Considered the "Upper body" of Congress, because its members serve for 6 year terms and are less often the target of the emotions of the People.
- Senator: Must be 30 years old, a resident of the state and a US citizen for 9 years. Elected by the people for a 6 year term. Can be reelected indefinitely. Serves in the Senate portion of Congress.
- Speaker of the House: Leader in the House of Representatives. Chosen by the majority of Representatives. Decides when bills will be voted on. Second in line for the presidency, if the President were to be incapacitated during his term.
- Supreme Court: The Judicial branch of government. Made up of 9 judges who make the final determination in interpreting the Constitution and laws passed by Congress. New judges are appointed by the President and voted on by Congress only when a former judge moves on. They serve for life or until they retire. The powers of the Judicial branch of government are outlined in Article 3, Section 1 of the Constitution. They interpret the laws.
- Surplus: When the government takes in more in taxes than it spends in one year. The last time this happened was in 1957! (Sorry Clinton. You never had a surplus.)
- veto: the power of the President to reject a bill. His veto can be overturned by a 2/3 vote from Congress.
- Vice President: Must be 35 years old, a natural born citizen and have lived in the US for 14 years. Elected by the people for a 4 year term. Can be reelected indefinitely. Breaks a tie in the Senate. First in line for the presidency, if the President were to be incapacitated during his term. Has limited power, unless given to him by the President.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
American Government Terms : Glossary of US Political Vocabulary Commonly Used
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