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Politics paper 3 > 2 US Congress > Flashcards

2 US Congress Flashcards

1
Q

How can the structure of Congress be described?

A

Congress is a bicameral legislature, with two equal legislative bodies

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2
Q

In which house are politicians awarded, proportional to their state size + example:

A

House is proportional to population eg Wyoming = 1 California = 53

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3
Q

How long is the term length in the House?

A

Two years

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4
Q

How long is the term length in the Senate?

A

6 years

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5
Q

Who is the current speaker of the House?

A

Nancy Pelosi

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6
Q

Who is president of the Senate?

A

Kamal Harris, VP

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7
Q

How often is the Senate election cycle?

A

Every 2 years but only one-third of Senators at a time

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8
Q

What are concurrent powers?

A

Powers given to both the House and Senate

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9
Q

What concurrent powers are given by the Constitution to Congress?

A
  • Legislate: Article 1, section 1 states all legislative powers shall be bested in Congress
  • Represent: Article 1 outlines the need for Congressional elections
  • Amend the constitution: Article 5 allows Congress to share role with states
  • Declare War: Article 1, section 8 gives Congress the right to initiate military action
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10
Q

Name some exclusive powers of the House:

A
  • Impeachment
  • Considers all money bills
  • Elect the president of no candidate has over 50% of ECV
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11
Q

Name some exclusive powers of the Senate

A
  • Try an impeachment case
  • Ratify treaties
  • Confirm executive appointments
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12
Q

How does the House impeach?

A

The House bring forward formal charges against a public official because there has been ‘Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanours’

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13
Q

When was the power to elect President, if not over 50% of ECV achieved, used?

A

Used in 1800 and 1824

Each state has one vote in the House

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14
Q

Why is the House in charge of money bills?

A

House was the only elected chamber at the time of the Founding Fathers

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15
Q

Why is the House overseeing money bills not significant?

A

All House decisions must be accepted by the Senate (and can be amended)

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16
Q

How does the Senate try an impeachment case?

A

If House impeaches a public official, a two-thirds vote in the Senate is required

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17
Q

How does the senate ratify treaties + example?

A

All treaties negotiated by president are subject to Senate confirmation, requiring a two-thirds vote
Eg Obama’s START treaty in 2010 was ratified by Senate – deal with Russia to scale back nuclear arsenals

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18
Q

What executive appointments are confirmed by Senate?

A

1200 senior appointments

Eg cabinet members, senior members of the EXOP, federal judges

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19
Q

What % vote is needed to confirm presidential appointments?

A

50% +

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20
Q

What are the three key functions of Congress?

A
  • Representation
  • Legislation
  • Oversight
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21
Q

What offers high levels of representation?

A

The frequency of elections every 2 years including mid-term elections

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22
Q

Representation: what is the trend for mid-term elections and the presidential party?

A

The president’s party loses seats in mid-term, losing a majority in either chamber or both
(With the exception of Clinton 1998 and Bush in 2002)

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23
Q

Representation: what is an ‘incumbent’ + stats?

A

The current holder of a political office, such as a politician in the House, Senate or Presidency
Representation: what was incumbency rates or 2016?
97% for the House and 90% for the Senate

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24
Q

Representation: what factors are responsible for high incumbency rates?

A
  • Safe seats and gerrymandering
  • Pork-barrel legislation – form of over-representation
  • Financial advantages – incumbents can attract more money than challengers
  • Use of office
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25
Representation: why is incumbency a threat to democracy?
Does not provide effective representation
26
Representation: what factors affect voting behaviour in Congress?
- Public-opinion/their constituency - Party/party leaders - Caucuses - Interest groups and professional lobbyists
27
Representation: how does public opinion affect Congressional voting behaviour?
- Could be voted out if don’t listen to constituents due to threat of constant elections (perhaps more important in the House)
28
Representation: how do party/party leaders affect Congressional voting behaviour?
- Politicians are pressured to vote according to majority party view Eg Not one Republican voted for Obamacare
29
Representation: how does caucuses affected Congressional voting behaviour?
- Refers to the factions within Congress eg Blue Dog Democrats - Groups often vote together on legislative issues
30
Representation: how do interest groups and professional lobbyists influence Congressional voting behaviour?
- Influence through donations that influence politicians to vote for policies that favour the group - Influence thought the threat of removal eg NRA - Revolving door
31
Legislative function: what are the stages of the legislative process?
1. Initiate 2. Debate and amend 3. Scheduling for main chamber 4. Decision
32
Legislative function: who can initiate a bill?
The president or Congress
33
Legislative function: what bodies debate and amend bills?
Committees and subcommittees within each chamber
34
Legislative function: what bodies schedule the bill for the main chamber?
House Rules Committee and the Senate Floor
35
Legislative function: what happens in the ‘scheduling for main chamber’ process?
A decision is taken as to whether the bill should proceed to the full chamber
36
Legislative function: what % of the votes must a bill receive to pass?
A bill must receive 50%+ in each chamber and both must agree to the same version
37
Legislative function: where does a disputed bill between Senate and House go?
To a conference committee
38
Legislative function: what is the final part of enacting a bill?
The President must sign the bill for it to become law or he can veto it
39
Legislative function: what are the 4 key features of the legislative process?
- Initiation - Compromise - Weak parties and party leaders - Obstacles to success
40
Legislation: what are some obstacles to legislative success?
- Each chamber may have different legislative priorities due to differing term lengths - Bills can get lost within committees and subcommittees - Overriding a presidential veto requires a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers - Constant grid locking
41
Legislation: what are some differences between the House and the Senate?
- House: bills go to a Rules Committee which decide length spent on a bill and what rules it will be under – headed by the Speaker of the House - Senate: doesn’t have a Rules Committee and allows unlimited time for debates - Senate: uses a process called unanimous consent where all Senators involved agree on a decision (not used in House) - Senate: uses the filibuster – a process in which a senator gives a prolonged speech on the floor to obstruct legislative progress of a bill
42
Legislation: longest filibuster?
In 1957 when Senator Strom Thurmond spoke for 24 hours against the civil rights act
43
Legislation: name some strengths of the legislative process
- Checks and Balances - Quality legislation - Individuals and states rights protected
44
Legislation: name some weaknesses of the legislative process
- Low output of legislation - Gridlock - Poor-quality legislation – pork barelling can create wasteful legislation
45
Legislation: how many bills introduced in the 114th Congress (2015-2017) and how many sent to Obama?
10,078 and only 329 (3% went) to president
46
Legislation: example of failed bill
Obama’s DREAM act which aimed to allow illegal immigrants who arrived in the US under 18 to remain Filibustered in Senate = Obama had to use executive orders
47
Legislation: what factors can limit Congress’ ability to pass legislation
- The PRESIDENT can veto legislation eg Obama veto Affordable Care Act Repeal 2016 - The SUPREME COURT can overturn acts of Congress using judicial review - PARTISANSHIP has decrease compromise between parties
48
Oversight: what is it?
The ability of once branch of government to supervise the work of another
49
Oversight: what checks can Congress give on the executive, stated in the Constitution:
- Vote against laws/amend laws supported by President - Determine funding for presidential projects - Propose legislation - Counter veto - Declare war - Senate ratification of appointments and treaties - Impeach members of the executive
50
Oversight: how can Congressional committees check the executive?
- Investigate and hold hearings for departments of the executive - The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has sole purpose of scrutinising the executive eg Investigation into Hilary Clinton’s private emails - Emergency committees can be created eg House Select Committee on Benghazi in 2014 after US ambassador to Libya was killed
51
Oversight: how can Congress’ checks be limited?
- Restricted by extent of presidential power ie imperial presidency – executive orders mean President can effectively create new policy without going through Congress eg Obama criticised for using EO on gun control and immigration - If President and Congress are of the same party
52
Oversight: what factors can influence the relationship between Congress and the presidency?
- Working on domestic or foreign policy - Popularity of president - Power of persuasion - Does the president hold a majority in both chambers
53
Oversight: what 2 main ways can Congress limit the Supreme Court + 2 minor ways
1. Congress can overturn a Supreme Court decision through amending the constitution Eg Congress lowered the voting age to 18 in the 26th amendment in 1971 which overturned a previous ruling 2. The Senate ratifies presidential nominations 3. Individual justices can be impeached and removed 4. Congress can determine the total number of justices on the court
54
How are party unity scores calculated?
Looking at the number of times a member of Congress votes with the majority in their own party
55
What was the average unity in the 113th Congress (2013-2014)?
92% for the Democrats and 90% Republicans
56
What has happened to the ‘political middle’?
It has declined with moderate conservatives and Blue Dog Democrats decreasing
57
Give an example of a bill receiving bipartisan agreement:
In 2016 when the Republicans and Democrats overturned Obama’s veto on a bill that allows families of victims of 9/11 to sue Saudi Arabia (JASTA) Senate voted 97-1 and House voted 348-77
58
How has partisanship/gridlock impacted legislation + example?
Hugely reduced Congress’ ability to pass legislation | Eg 112th Congress (2011-2013) had one of lowest success rates with just 2.3% of bills passing
59
Example of a bill that underwent gridlock:
Democrats and Republicans unable to agree on federal funding to tackle the Zika virus with Obama requesting $1.9 billion but Republicans who controlled Congress wanted to cut this
60
When do Congress have a strong check on the President?
Under divided government – the president lacks control and policy initiatives can be blocked
61
Give an example of a time when there was divided government:
Obama 2011-2016 When do Congress have a weak check on the President? In times of unified government – Congress id driven by party loyalty and may fail oversight
62
Give an example of a time when there was unified government:
Bush 2003-2008 – criticism Congress didn’t scrutinise President despite controversial issues like Iraq War, Patriot Act and creation of Guantanamo detention camp
63
What changes in recent years have led to change in Congressional power?
- Partisanship - Rise in importance of foreign and military policy = undermined Congressional power as international affairs increasingly controlled by President ie imperial presidency
64
What are the two types of representation?
Trustee and delegate
65
What are the two types of representation?
Trustee and delegate
66
Describe the delegate model of representation:
A politician is elected by the people and must do all they can to listen to them to respond to their wishes
67
Describe the trustee model of representation:
A politician is elected by the people but will use their own expertise to make judgements about the best interest of people
68
Reasons Congress is representative:
- Separate elections for Congress and President - Two elected chambers that provide complementary representation - Frequent elections and short House terms
69
Reasons Congress is unrepresentative:
- FPTP and gerrymandering - Social representation - Influence of PGs

Politics paper 3 (7 decks)

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