| Terms |
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incentive system
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regulatory strategy that rewards individuals or coporations for desired types behavior, usually through the tax code
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civil service
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a collective term for the body of employees working for the government; generally understood to apply to all those who gain government employment through a merit system
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bureaucracy
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a large organization that is structured hierarchically to carry out specific functions
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independent regulatory agency (commission)
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an agency outside the major executive departments charged with making an implementing rules and regulations
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deregulation
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the lifting of restrictions on business, industry, and professional activities for which government rules had been established and that bureaucracies had been created to administer
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medicare
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a federal health-insurance program that covers U.S. residents over the age of 65; the costs are met by a tax on wages and salaries
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oversight
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the process by which Congress follows up on laws it has enacted to ensure that they are being enforced and administered in the way Congress intended
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patronage
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the practice of rewarding faithful party workers and followers with government employment and contracts
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red tape
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complex bureaucratic rules and procedures that must be followed to get something done
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uncontrollable expenditures/spending
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the portion of the Federal budget that is spent on programs, such as Social Security, that the president and Congress are unwilling to cut
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entitlement programs
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programs such as unemployment insurance, disability relief, or disability payments that provide benefits to all eligible citizens
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Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
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designed to reform the congressional budgetory process and make Congress less dependent on the president's budget and better able to set and meet its own budgetary goals; set limits to president's impounding funds and set up the Congressional Budget Office; a check in Congress on presidential power over the budget
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senior executive service
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established by Congress in 1978 as a flexible, mobile corps of senior career executives who work closely with presidential appointees to manage government
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government corporation
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an agency of government that administers a quasi-business enterprise; used when activities are primarily commercial
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Pendleton Civil Service Act
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an act that established the principle of employment on the basis of merit and created the Civil Service Commission to administer the personnel service
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trust funds
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funds for government programs that are collected and spent outside the regular government budget
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Hatch Act
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an act passed in 1939 that restricted the political activities of government employees; prohibited a political group from spending more than $3 million in any campaign and limited individual contributions to a campaign committee to $5,000
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House Ways and Means Committee
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the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives
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revenues
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the financial resources of the federal government. The individual income tax and Social Security tax are two major sources
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committee clearance
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the ability of a congressional committee to review and approve certain agency decisions in advance and without passing a law
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appropriation
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the passage, by Congress, of a spending bill specifying the amount of authorized funds that actually will be allocated for an agency's use
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merit system
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the selection, retention, and promotion of government employees on the basis of competitive examinations
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central clearance
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review of all executive branch testimony, reports, and draft legislation by the Office of Management and Budget to ensure that each communication to Congress is in accordance with the president's program
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continuing resolution
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a temporary funding law that Congress passes when an appropriations bill has not been decided by the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1
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indexing
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providing automatic increases to compensate for inflation
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spoils system
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the awarding of government jobs to political supporters and friends
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discretionary authority
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the extent to which appointed bureaucrats can choose courses of action and make policies that are not spelled out in advance by laws
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iron triangle
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the three-way alliance among legislators, bureaucrats, and interest groups to make or preserve policies that benefit their respective interests
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authorization
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a formal declaration by a legislative committee that a certain amount of funding may be available to an agency; some terminate in a year; others are renewable automatically without further congressional action
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administrative discretion
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authority given by Congress to the Federal bureaucracy to use reasonable judgment in implementing the laws
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Congressional Budget Office
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staff agency that advises Congress on the likely economic effects of different spending programs and provides information on the costs of the proposed policies.
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