Chapter 5  section 3- 4 Vocabulary
Executive Order - directive, rule, or regulation issued by a chief executive or subordinates, based upon constitutional or statutory authority and having the force of law

Ordinance Power - power of the President to issue executive orders; originates from the Constitution and acts of Congress

Executive Privilege - the President's power to refuse to disclose information

Pocket Veto - a type of veto a chief executive may use after a legislature has adjourned when the chief executive does not sign or reject a bill within the time allowed to do so

Line Item Veto - a President's cancellation of specific dollar amounts (line items) from a
congressional spending bill; instituted by a 1996 congressional act, but struck down by a 1998 Supreme Court decision

Reprieve - an official postponement of the execution of a sentence

Pardon - release from the punishment or legal consequences of a crime, by the President (in a federal case) or a governor (in a State case)

Commutation - the power to reduce (commute) the length of a sentence or fine for a crime

Amnesty - a blanket pardon offered to a group of law violators

Treaty - a formal agreement between two or more sovereign states

Executive Agreement - a pact made by the President directly with the head of a foreign state; a binding international agreement with the force of law but which (unlike a treaty) does not require Senate consent

Recognition - the exclusive power of a President to legally recognize (establish formal diplomatic relations with) foreign states

Persona non grata - an unwelcome person; used to describe recalled diplomatic officials