POLSC 122 Carl Sandburg College Congress Bureaucracy and Judiciary Questionnaire

Political Science 122American Politics
Exam 3 Study Guide
Exam 3 covers the following chapters from you textbook: Congress, Presidency, Bureaucracy, Judiciary
The following are terms you need know:
Congress
Reapportionment
Constituency
Redistricting
Gerrymandering
Filibuster
Standing committee
Caucus
You need to know/be able to explain the following: what are the minimum qualifications required to become a
Senator or Representative; how often are Congressional elections held; how are congressional district
boundaries drawn; what are the 6 functions of Congress; major differences between the House and Senate;
the importance of committees, committee structure; leadership roles; the budget process, roles of the OMB
and CBO
Presidency
Impeachment
Executive orders
Veto power
Executive Office of the President
Fireside chats
You need to know/be able to explain the following: minimum qualifications to become president; what are the
roles and functions of the president; how is the rest of the executive branch organized; how have certain
presidents expanded the roles and powers of the presidency; what is the process of impeachment and when
has it been used before in history
Bureaucracy
FOIA
Sunshine Acts
Patronage
Merit system
whistleblowers
independent executive agencies
deregulation
independent regulatory agencies
You need to know/be able to explain the following: explain the nature of the bureaucracy; what is the rough
size of the bureaucracy in terms of employees; what are the larger of the agencies in terms of number of
employees; examples of major regulatory agencies; what is deregulation; what are some attempts at
reforming the bureaucracy; what is the Congressional role in the bureaucracy
Courts
District courts
Courts of appeals
Jurisdiction
Criminal cases
Civil cases
Writ of certiorari
judicial review
Marbury v. Madison
You need to know/be able to explain the following: what is common law and why/how is it used; explain the
general make up and function of the court system; what is the process of judicial selection like; why is judicial
review important and how did it become the “right” of the court system; characteristics of the Warren, Burger
and Rehnquist courts; how can cases reach the Supreme Court; who checks the court system and how; what
are the major issues of criminal justice in the U.S.