Credit Sprint / Study guides / U.S. Government Unit 2

Credit Sprint's Guide to AP® U.S. Government and Politics, Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government

Unit 2 is the largest unit on the exam. It covers how Congress, the presidency, the bureaucracy and the federal courts are organized, what powers each has and how they check each other. Most free-response questions touch some part of it.

What you need to know

• Congress: the House has 435 voting members, two-year terms and the power to originate revenue bills and impeach. The Senate has 100 members, six-year terms and the powers to confirm appointments, ratify treaties (two-thirds) and try impeachments (two-thirds to convict). Leaders: the Speaker, majority and minority leaders and whips.
• Committees do most of Congress's work. Standing committees handle legislation, select committees investigate, joint committees include both chambers, and conference committees reconcile House and Senate versions. The House Rules Committee sets the rules of debate. Seniority and party leaders shape committee power.
• How a bill becomes law: introduction, committee (hearings, markup), floor debate and a vote, the other chamber, conference if needed, then the president signs or vetoes. Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in both chambers. A pocket veto happens when Congress adjourns and the president does not sign within ten days.
• The filibuster, a Senate tactic to block a vote by extended debate, can be ended with cloture (three-fifths of the Senate, 60 votes). Other tools include holds, unanimous consent agreements, riders, earmarks, logrolling and pork barrel spending.
• Representation: delegates, trustees and politicos describe how members behave. Gerrymandering is drawing districts for partisan or racial advantage. Baker v. Carr (1962) allowed courts to hear redistricting cases and Shaw v. Reno (1993) limited race-based districting.
• The presidency has formal powers (veto, commander in chief, appointments, pardons, treaty negotiation, State of the Union) and informal powers (executive orders, executive agreements, bully pulpit, agenda setting). The 25th Amendment covers disability and succession, and the 22nd limits presidents to two terms.
• The bureaucracy implements laws. It includes cabinet departments, independent agencies, independent regulatory commissions and government corporations. Congress oversees agencies through budgets, hearings and the Congressional Review Act, and the president through appointments and executive orders. Rulemaking, iron triangles and issue networks explain how agencies, committees and interest groups interact.
• The federal courts have district courts, courts of appeals and the Supreme Court. Judges are nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate and serve for life during good behavior. Judicial review, established in Marbury v. Madison (1803), lets courts strike down laws and actions that conflict with the Constitution.
• Judicial philosophies: judicial activism versus restraint, and originalism versus a living Constitution. The Supreme Court is influenced by precedent (stare decisis), the solicitor general, amicus briefs, and the power of the Senate to confirm justices.
• Checks on the courts include appointment and confirmation, impeachment, constitutional amendments, changing jurisdiction and refusing to enforce rulings. Checks on the president include the override, impeachment, the power of the purse, Senate confirmation and treaty ratification, and judicial review.
• Fiscal and monetary tools, such as the budget process, are also part of how the branches interact. Congress controls spending and taxes, while the Federal Reserve manages monetary policy independently.

Exam traps

Key terms

• Bicameral Congress: The structure of Congress with a House of Representatives of 435 members and a Senate of 100 members.
• Speaker of the House: The presiding officer of the House, chosen by the members, who leads the majority party and is second in the line of succession to the presidency.
• Majority leader: The Senate's top party leader in the majority, who controls the floor schedule and sets the agenda.
• Committee system: The way Congress divides its work among standing committees that hold hearings, study issues and draft bills.
• Standing committee: A permanent congressional committee that handles a policy area such as Agriculture or Armed Services.
• Conference committee: A temporary group of House and Senate members that works out differences between versions of a bill.
• Rules Committee: A House committee that sets the terms of debate and amendment for bills before they reach the floor.
• Filibuster: A tactic in the Senate that delays or blocks a vote by extending debate.
• Cloture: A Senate vote requiring three-fifths of the members, or 60 senators, to end debate and force a vote on a bill.
• Discharge petition: A House device that lets a majority of members force a committee-stalled bill to the floor.
• Hold: A senator's notice that they object to a bill or nomination coming up for a vote, which can delay Senate action.
• Pork barrel spending: Government spending on local projects that members of Congress seek to win votes in their districts.
• Logrolling: Trading votes among legislators so that each gets support for their own priorities.
• Earmark: A provision in a spending bill that directs money to a specific project in a member's state or district.
• Pocket veto: A veto that occurs when the president does not sign a bill and Congress adjourns within ten days.
• Veto override: Overruling a presidential veto, which takes a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress.

Practice questions

Five of the 109 Unit 2 questions in Credit Sprint. Every choice is explained in the app.