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Government - USA > 2.2 The Functions of Congress > Flashcards

2.2 The Functions of Congress Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the 3 constitutional functions of Congress?

A
  • representation
  • legislative
  • oversight
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2
Q

What two ways can representation be achieved?

A
  • how legisaltors represent their constituents

- who the legisaltors are and their social background

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3
Q

What are the two models of representation?

A
  • trustee model

- delegate model

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4
Q

What is the trustee model of representation?

A

When the representative is vested with formal responsibility for making decisions on behalf of others. Fits well with most members of Congress see their role

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5
Q

What is the delegate model of representation?

A

Someone who is chosen to act on behalf of others.

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6
Q

Does Congress fulfill its roles of representation?

A

If an issue affects the majority of their constintuents. This is especially true for members of the house which are elected every 2 years. However, social represention is limited.

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7
Q

What are Congressional Elections?

A

Elections to elect a member to Congress

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8
Q

What does the term incumbent mean?

A

A person who currently holds office and benefit from the advantages this holds

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9
Q

What are the 4 reasons for high level of re-election for incumbents?

A
  • name recognition
  • pork barrel politics
  • fundraising advantage
  • gerrymandering
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10
Q

How does name recognition benefit an incumbent?

A

As an incumbent, one has the ability to provide constituency services where they raise important points as to how their work has benefitted the area. They are provided with a website,

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11
Q

How does pork-barrel politics benefit an incumbent?

A

When funds are allocated to a district to benefit the incumbent. These projects are designed to re-elect the member to Congress.

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12
Q

How does the fundraising advantage benefit an incumbent?

A

Incumbent senators can raise over 7 times more than a non-elected counterpart. Money comes easy to Congressional Elections and you need money to succeed in America.

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13
Q

How does gerrymandering affect an incumbent?

A

Each state draws up Congressional districts, with state legislatures having the ability to change these boundaries every ten years. This means state legislatures can give an electoral advantages to incumbents

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14
Q

What are the factors that affect voting behaviour in Congress?

A
  • political parties
  • congressional caucuses
  • constituency
  • pressure groups
  • lobbyists
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15
Q

How do political parties affect voting behaviour within Congress?

A

In the era of polarisation, party is the most key factor in voting behaviour. A party vote sometimes occurs in Congress whereby the majority of one party votes against the majority of another party on key issues such as gun control, abortion and taxation.

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16
Q

What is a congressional caucus?

A

A congressional caucus is when a collection of memebers from one party group together to advance a single issue

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17
Q

What are the 3 functions of congressional caucuses?

A
  • education (providing information on proposed legislation)
  • agenda setting (work together to boost the chances of an issue getting onto agenda)
  • encouraging support (persuading people to vote for their cause)
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18
Q

How does a constituency affect voting behaviour within Congress?

A

Members place a high premium on representing the interests of their constituents. Especially for members of the House who get elected every 2 years. The ‘locality rule’ issued by some states mean that the representative must of been born and raised there.

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19
Q

How do pressure groups affect voting behaviour within Congress?

A

Interest groups will want to influence how members of Congress vote to better their interests. They generate public support, provide evidence, organise rallies, and fund politicians who will advance their cause

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20
Q

What are the 6 stages of the legislative process?

A
  1. introduction
  2. committee stage
  3. timetabling
  4. floor debate and vote
  5. conference committee
  6. presidential action
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21
Q

What is the introduction stage of of the legislative process?

A

A pure formality. There is no debate and no vote. In the House, it involves placing a copy of the bill on the clerks desk. In the Senate, it involves reading the name of the bill on the Senate floor

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22
Q

How many bills are introduced into Congress?

A

Between 10,000 to 14,000 bills per term. Only 2 - 4% of them make it into law.

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23
Q

What is the committee stage of of the legislative process?

A

Most important stage of the bill as most bills fail here than at any other point. A significant number are pigeon holed. Specialist committees scrutinise the bill and have full amendment power. A mark up session is then held when the Standing Committee tables the amendments made and recommends action

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24
Q

What is the timetabling stage of of the legislative process?

A

A legisaltive traffic jam occurs with the sheer number of bills passing. Both Houses have their own way with dealing with this.

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25
Q

How does The Senate deal with timetabling?

A

Via a unanimous consent agreement. This is an agreement between majority and minority senators on the order of when bills will be debated.

26
Q

How does The House deal with timetabling?

A

Deals with this through House Rules Committee. It is a legislative ‘gate keeper’ allowing some bills to pass. Usually passes popular, politically active bills. If the HRC fails to do this, The House can vote to debate legislation with an absolute majority vote.

27
Q

What is the floor debate and passage stage of of the legislative process?

A

First opportunity for Congress to debate the bill.

28
Q

What happens in The House and The Senate in the floor debate and passage stage?

A

There is a general debate and amendments can be proposed. Simple majorities are required to pass this legisaltion

29
Q

What happens in The Senate in the floor debate and passage stage?

A

Possibility of a filibuster taking place. This is when a senator delays an action of a bill by talking at length.

30
Q

What are the ways a filibuster can be ended in the Senate?

A

by a procedure called a ‘closure’, must be signed for by 16 senators and then voted for by 3/5 of the chamber

31
Q

What is the Conference Committee stage of the legislative process?

A

The Constitution is silent on how differences in agreement on legislation are dealt with. The conference committee would produce an agreed report and a vote would take place in both chambers. This report would be a compromise between the two versions of the bill

32
Q

What is the Presidential Action stage of the legislative process?

A

Presidents have 4 options about what to do with a bill

  • sign the bill into law
  • leaving the bill on their desk
  • regular veto
  • pocket veto
33
Q

What happens when a President signs a bill into law?

A

Presidents will sign bills into law they fully support and want to claim some credit from. A ceremony is arranged with media attention

34
Q

What happens when a President leaves the bill on their desk?

A

They literally leave the bill on their desk they are impartial too or had no influence over the bill. They also do this for bills which they believe their veto would be overriden by Congress

35
Q

What happens when a regular veto occurs for a piece of legislation?

A

They veto a bill they strongly oppose. This is when they block the bill. Presidents can use the threat of a veto as a bargaining tool over Congress to do as they wish. To veto a bill they must act within 10 congressional days of receiving the bill.

36
Q

What happens when a pocket veto occurs for a piece of legislation?

A

Towards the end of a legislative session, a President can veto a bill to stop it coming into law. Congress therefore cannot do anything and the bill is lost. This was a popular tool in Bill Clinton’s Presidency

37
Q

What are the strengths of the legislative process?

A

-difficult so process cannot be dominated by one branch

38
Q

What are the weaknesses of the legislative process?

A

-lack an effective government

39
Q

What is oversight?

A

When Congress overviews the work of the executive

40
Q

What are the factors that affect the relationship between Congress and the President, therefore meaning oversight to be useful/useless?

A
  • party control
  • party polarisation
  • policy area
  • election cycle
  • Presidential approval rating
  • Congressional approval rating
41
Q

How does party control affect the relationship between Congress and the President?

A

Congress and oversight is only really effective when Congress and exec are controlled by opposing parties. Almost all modern day examples of a Senate’s rejection have come from when the Presdient’s party have not controlled Senate. If there is a united government, oversight can drop drastically.

42
Q

How does party polarisation affect the relationship between Congress and the President?

A

As parties grow further ideologically apart, there is often a strain between Congress and the President. Opposing parties will generally just oppose the President just because they are of opposite partied

43
Q

How does party policy affect the relationship between Congress and the President?

A

Congress’s ability to oversee the President is greater in areas of domestic policy rather than foreign policy.

44
Q

How does the election cycle affect the relationship between Congress and the President?

A

Gearing up to an election, members of Congress will be more concerned about pleasing their constituents rather than pleasing the President

45
Q

How does the Presidential approval rating affect the relationship between Congress and the President?

A

When a Presidents approval rating is high, Congress will be less likely to exert influence compared to when an approval rating is low

46
Q

How does the Congressional Approval Rating affect the relationship between Congress and the President?

A

When congressional approval is low, Congress struggled to exert influence over other branches

47
Q

How do National Events affect the relationship between Congress and the President?

A

In times of crisis, people will often turn to the President in the short term for help. However, Congress can pass legislation to ease the pain caused by a crisis

48
Q

What the the two checks of Congress on the President?

A
  • standing committees

- impeachment

49
Q

What are standing committees?

A

Policy specialist committees

50
Q

What are the functions of a standing committee?

A
  • conducting the committee stage of the bill
  • conducting investigations
  • comfirming Presidential appointments (Senate only)
51
Q

Explain how standing committees conduct the committee stage of a bill?

A

When the committee holds “hearings” on the bill at which “witnesses” appear. Witnesses are scrutinsied by members of the committee and then a vote is taken on whether or not to pass the bill onto the next stage

52
Q

Explain how standing committees conduct investigations?

A

Conduct investigations within the committees policy area. This enables the oversight function.

53
Q

Explain how standing committees comfirm presidential appointments?

A

In the Senate, they begin the confirmation process of numerous candidates. A uniamous “yes” may previal. If not, problems arise as it is unlikely any candidate will pass this stage.

54
Q

What happens when a President is impeached?

A

The House can remove or significantly damage a President by trying to remove them from office.

55
Q

How effective is Congress in its oversight function of the President?

A

The Constitutional arsenal of Congress is very powerful, but it has limited ability to defy a determined and powerful President. The President can veto laws, obviously proving a President to be more powerful.
It has also seen to be unsuccessful in its impeachment role, all 3 of the impeached Presidents were ‘acquited’ by the Senate, rendering them useless.

56
Q

Why is impeachment seen to be successful?

A

Congress has fulfilled its constitutional role, furthermore the Founding Fathers wanted to Congress to be a source of guilt for those impeached, which was very much the case in President Nixon case!

57
Q

What are the 3 checks of Congress on the Supreme Court?

A
  • constitutional amendments
  • impeachment
  • size of the court
58
Q

How does Congress check the judiciary through constitutional amendments?

A

It can overule a ruling of the Supreme Court by passing a constitutional amendment, this has happended 26 time

59
Q

How does Congress check the judiciary through size of the court?

A

The Constitution does not specify the size of the Supreme Court. Under Article III, Congress has the power to change the composition of the Supreme Court. Although this hasn’t happended yet, it could potentially make the Supreme Court a politcal institution.

60
Q

Is Congress effective in its oversight function of the Supreme Court?

A

Congressional power of oversight on the Supreme Court is limited. While it does possess the power to pass constituional amendments, it is so difficult the Courts are more powerful.

61
Q

How can Congress impeach a member of the Supreme Court?

A

Can impeach a member of the Supreme Court, althought this has only happended once and this was in 1804.

Government - USA (5 decks)

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