3.2: US Congress Flashcards
1
Q
What is Congress and from what was it established from?
A
CONGRESS
- Established in Article I.
- The Founding Fathers cite King George III as “a prince… marked as a tyrant” with a fear of this tyranny (oppressive or cruel rule) perhaps explaining why Congress was first in the Constitution - with this branch of Gov. being most accountable to voters.
2
Q
What is the structure of Congress?
A
BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE
- Made up of two equal legislative bodies (stop Congress gaining too much power alone):
- Senate (100 Senators).
- Appointed by state legislatures, with each state obtaining two senators regardless of population.
- This safeguarded against popular sovereignty and gave every state a protected voice regardless of size.
- Only became an elected chamber through the 17th Amendment in 1913 over growing concerns regarding the power of industrial monopolies to control state legislatures in the appointment of senators (The Standard Oil Company, by John D. Rockefeller, ceased by 1911 as an illegal monopoly in a Supreme Court Ruling). - House of Representatives (435 Representatives).
- Each State would appoint a number of representatives proportional to its population.
- House represents POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY (gov. authority is derived from the consent of the people being governed as a source of political power).
- Concurrent (shared) powers in both chambers; such as the power to legislate, equal salaries.
3
Q
What is the membership of the Senate?
A
SENATE MEMBERSHIP
a) 100 Senators (originally 26 in the 1st Congress) with the Vice President casting the deciding vote in the event of a tie.
- Since the 17th amendment in 1913, Senators are able to serve 6-year terms.
b) 2 Senators per state
- The longer-serving senator from the state = ‘senior-senator’.
- The shorter-serving senator from the state = ‘junior-senator’.
c) Each senator represents the whole state.
d) Serve a 6-year term, with 1/3rd of the house up for elections every 2 years (Class I, II, III)
- Class I was elected in 2018.
- There are no limits on the number of terms that can be served.
e) Key leadership roles:
- Vice President Mike Pence (constitutionally, they preside over the Senate).
- President pro-tempore (Chuck Grassley) acts in Mike Pence’s absence.
- The majority (Mitch McConnell [R]) and Minority (Chuck Schumer [D]) leaders.
4
Q
What is the membership of the House of Representatives?
A
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MEMBERSHIP
a) 435 Congressmen/women.
- Plus 6 non-voting members including the member for Washington DC and American Protectorates (e.g. Guam).
b) Reflective of the population of each state.
- EXAMPLE. The Apportionment Act 1911 sets the number of members in the House of Representatives as 435 (when the population was 92 million = 215,000 citizens per Representatives, however today the population is 328 million = 750,000 citizens).
- In the 115th Congress, 7 states had only 1 representative as their populations were around 1 million.
- California had around 53 members for its 40 million population.
c) Each ‘Congressional District’ is drawn by the state government and redrawn every 10 years after the Census.
d) The whole house is up for election every 2 years (mid-terms).
- There is no limit on the number of terms that can be served.
e) Key leadership roles:
- Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi [D] (elected by the whole House from the Majority Party.
- The majority (Steny Hoyer [D]) and Minority (Kevin McCarthy [R]) leaders.
- The majority (Jim Clyburn [D]) and Minority (Steve Scalise [R]) whips.
5
Q
What is the election cycle of Congress?
A
CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS
- Occurs every 2 years, whilst the President is every 4 years (midterm elections in-between).
- All House of Representative seats is contested whereas 1/3rd of Senate seats are elected.
- Current Congress is 116th (2019 - 2021).
- All federal government elections use FPTP which has promoted the Two-Party system in America.
- Increased chances of divided government with 72% of the time being divided between 1969 - 2020 (only 21% between 1901 - 1969).
6
Q
What is the significance of midterm elections?
A
MIDTERM ELECTIONS
a) Effectively a referendum on the first two years of a presidential term.
b) There is a common pattern of the incumbent executive party losing the power of one or both chambers in midterm elections, making it harder to pass legislation.
- EXAMPLE. Donald Trump lost the House of Representatives to the Democrats in the 2018 midterms.
- EXAMPLE. Bush lost both chambers in the 2006 midterms.
- EXAMPLE. Only gained seats in the house 3 times: Roosevelt 1934, Clinton 1998, Bush 2002.
c) Gives future presidential candidates a common party platform which can increase their profile.
- Example. 1994 Newt Gingrich successfully moved from minority leader to speaker, based on his ‘Contract with America’ a fiscally conservative package presented to voters, which Clinton was forced to accept. Or Nancy Pelosi and the ‘100-hour agenda’ in 2006. Giving speakers more power and setting the legislation as much as the president.
- EXAMPLE. Republicans tried to make the 1998 midterms into a referendum on the Lewinsky affair yet backfired as Clinton gained more seats and reduced the chances of removing him from office.
7
Q
What provides Congress power?
A
ARTICLE I of the CONSTITUTION
- Gives Congress enumerated powers both concurrently and exclusively.
- The ‘necessary and proper clause’ of Article I allows Congress to make any laws that will allow it to carry out its enumerated powers.
- The ‘Commerce Clause’ allows Congress to regulate foreign and interstate trade as well as being used to defend the power to set up a national bank in 1791 (power to levy and collect taxes).
8
Q
What are the shared powers of Congress?
A
CONCURRENT POWERS
- Create Legislation
- Ability to create, amend, delay and pass legislation yet is not unlimited and is instead dependent on Constitutional powers, with states holding power to legislate in other areas.
- EXAMPLE. Trump had to ask Congress to pass legislation which would repeal and replace Obamacare, yet all of the Senate Democrats and 9 Republicans voted against this, with even a partial repeal of Obamacare failing with 7 republicans voting against it.
- EXAMPLE. The original Obamacare was heavily amended by Congress before passing - issuing Presidential Executive Order 13535 to ensuring that abortions would not be funded with federal money to overcome Congressional disagreements. - Override the Presidential’s Veto
- Once a bill has passed Congress, it requires the President’s assent to become law - but they can veto a bill.
- In this case, Congress has the power to overturn this veto with a 2/3rd supermajority in both chambers.
- Normally when Congress is controlled by the opposition is this more commonly used:
- EXAMPLE. 11/12 vetos used by George Bush came after he lost control of both chambers, with 4 being overridden.
- EXAMPLE. 10/12 vetos used by Obama cam once he had lost control of at least 1 chamber, with 1 being overridden. Yet the threat of a veto can be a power against Congress - Obama threatened 148 vetoes in his first 6 years, yet only used it 2 times.
- EXAMPLE. Bipartisanship in 2016 with a Congressional veto of the 9/11 Victims Bill (97 Senators voted to override the Veto - except Harry Reid, the Democratic Minority Leader).
- EXAMPLE. In February 2018, Trump threatened to veto any immigration bill which did not contain the ‘four pillars’ laid out in his administration: a path to citizenship, securing the border, an end to the green card lottery, end to ‘chain migration’. - Propose Constitutional Amendments
- Article V says a 2/3rds vote in both chambers can propose constitutional amendments.
- The last time an amendment was added was in 1992. - Declare War
- Article I, section 8 gives Congress the power to formally declare war on another nation.
- Last used in 1942 to declare war on Romania, with President Roosevelt formally asking both houses to declare war on Japan in 1941 following Pearl Harbour.
- There is ambiguity as the President has the power to initiate military action, with the technological development of weapons in the 20th Century mobilising this threat from the executive - yet Congress’ power over money and tax has controlled this desire. - Confirm a new Vice President
- If the office of VP becomes vacant during the Presidential term then it must be filled.
- The 25th Amendment allows for a simple majority vote in both houses to confirm a VP (as current VP may step up to be President).
- EXAMPLE. Happened when Lyndon B. Johnson took over from JFK in 1963. Or Gerald Ford replaced Richard Nixon in 1974. - Investigation
- Through implied powers, Congress can investigate areas on which it has created legislation or may need to create legislation (alongside federal programs).
- The power to ‘SUBPOENA’ (Congress to order someone to attend a hearing and compel them to give evidence.
- EXAMPLE. As seen in 2003 following 9/11 and the role of the US intelligence community.
- EXAMPLE. In 2017, 4 different congressional committees investigated the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election with Republican chair, Devin Nunes, of the House Intelligence Committee concluding that they “did not determine that Trump or anyone associated with him assisted Russia’s active measures campaign”.
9
Q
What are the exclusive powers of the Senate?
A
SENATE POWERS
- Ratify Treaties
- Check on the president’s power over foreign policy, the Senate scrutinises treaties and choose to approve or reject them by a 2/3rd vote.
- EXAMPLE. In 2012, only 61 voted to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as Republicans thought it may entail extra gov. regulation.
- It does not have to reject a treaty to exercise this power, but also through scrutiny and acceptance (Obama ratified the START treaty in 2010 to scale back their nuclear arsenal jointly with Russia).
- This power has been eroded by the President’s use of Executive Agreements.
- EXAMPLE. The Treaty of Versailles 1919 was rejected by Congress despite President Woodrow Wilson personally negotiating the treaty following World War I so Americans could not join the League of Nations until 1921. - Confirm Appointments
- There are over 1,200 senior appointments (cabinet members, senior members of the EXOP and all federal judges including supreme court justices) which need to be confirmed by relevant committees on the qualifications and suitability of a candidate before a simple Senate vote.
- EXAMPLE. Trump nominated 2 justices to the US Supreme Court, yet the hearings of the Senate Judiciary Committee for Brett Kavanaugh were subject to unprecedented protests objecting to his nomination over abortion which could challenge 1973 Roe v Wade and his stance on the Mueller investigation into Russian election interference. - Try cases of impeachment
- In cases brought forward by the House, a trial is held in the Senate and presided over by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, with the House of Representatives acting as the prosecution, whilst the person can mount a defence of witnesses.
- A 2/3rd majority finds them guilty or not which determines their position in office.
- EXAMPLE. No president has been removed from this. Yet the Consitution is vague on reasons for impeachment, Gerald Ford was leading a charge of impeachment for financial misconduct against Justice Douglas in 1970 before becoming president yet he believed that it is “whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history” over the actual impeachable offence. - Choose the VP if the Electoral College is deadlocked
- The Senate chooses the VP, yet the VP does act as president of the Senate, so it is logical that the Senate would select them in these circumstances
- Only occurred in 1800 and 1824.
10
Q
What are the exclusive powers of the House of Representatives?
A
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES POWERS
- Power of the Purse
- Can begin appropriation (spending) bills, which gives considerable power over the president and over the Senate (although the Senate can amend these bills and approve them).
- Each year the president submits the annual budget for the US government to the House Budget Committee to begin the approval process.
- EXAMPLE. In the 2018 budget, Trump requested that the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) be cut by 1/3rd. Republicans in the House proposed cutting it by just 6%. - Bring charges of impeachment
- Article II, section 4 can bring forward charges of impeachment against the president, his officials, or justices of the federal courts - if guilty they will be removed from office.
- Not a criminal trial, if they have broken a civil proceeding may follow, but impeachment just removes them from power (has been successful 3 times (1868, 1998, 2019) and is a threat to the executive).
- EXAMPLE. In 2008, Dennis Kucinich [D] sponsored 35 charges of impeachment against George W. Bush and 3 against VP Dick Cheney (on the Iraq War and ‘War on Terror’ for misleading the public). - Choose the president if the Electoral College is deadlocked (or neither candidate has over 50%)
- In order to win an election, the president needs to gain a simple majority in the ECV.
- There are 535 ECV with a candidate needing 270 to win. If this is not achieved, then the House of Representatives will choose - each state has 1 vote in the house (voting as a bloc).
- The two-party system and amendments redefining the electoral process mean that this power is unlikely to be used.
- Only used twice: in 1800 to elect Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr and in 1824 to elect John Quincy Adams.
11
Q
What are the 3 main functions of Congress?
A
FUNCTIONS
- Representation
- Legislation
- Oversight of the other branches of government
12
Q
What is the significance of the incumbency?
A
INCUMBENT
- The person who currently holds a political office, usually referring to the president, a senator or a member of the House of Representatives.
- In 2016, incumbency re-elections were 97% for the House and 93% for the Senate.
- A threat to US democracy as an ineffective and biased level of representation, some states have created term limits which have been removed by the supreme court, yet it would end the stagnation of politicians in Congress or would it still be dominated by gerrymandering and funding.
13
Q
What factors are responsible for high incumbency re-election rates?
A
INCUMBENCY RE-ELECTION
- Use of office
- Congresspersons can use their place in office to establish popularity/name-recognition and attract major donors.
- Proven track record inspires trust among voters.
- Provided with a personal website on the US Gov. website which can easily expound on their policy beliefs, successes and influence alongside being easily contactable for constituents.
- ‘FRANKING PRIVILEGES’ so the cost of mailing to their constituents is provided for via Congress (not for electoral purposes, but can be used to demonstrate their work in Congress), with franking costs far higher in election years at $24.8 million in 2012 whilst it was only half the year before). - Safe seats and gerrymandering
- GERRYMANDERING is the shaping of congressional districts to give one party a political advantage.
- The party controlling each state’s legislature has the opportunity to redraw the House of Representative’s constituency boundaries every 10 years after each census.
- Leads to gerrymandering as the states governing party draw the boundaries to give an electoral advantage, with racial gerrymandering commonplace before the civil rights era as state boundaries were drawn up by the politicians elected at state level.
- EXAMPLE. Republicans tacticians in 2010 re-drew House-district boundaries, such as Pennsylvania. In 2008, Obama won Pennsylvania and 12 Democrat representatives. In 2012, Obama won again but only 5 Democrat representatives (with Republicans winning the other 13/18 seats despite the Democrats winning 100,000 more votes, 51% of the votes translated into 23% of seats).
- EXAMPLE. 2017 Cooper v Harris challenged the use of race alone in gerrymandering/redistricting as racist. - Pork-Barrel Legislation
- When a congressman proposes an amendment in legislation that produce benefits (predominantly financial/infrastructure) to a district in order to win favour and attract popularity.
- When an amendment by a politician to add expenditure to benefit constituents, oy os referred to as an ‘EARMARK’ which is criticised for contributing towards the budget deficit and gives some over-representation to regions.
- Republican leaders placed a moratorium on EARMARK in 2010 to restrict this practice.
- EXAMPLE. Fiscal conservatives engage in this if it increases re-election chances: Gravina Island Bridge in Alaska was advocated by Republican Representative Don Young with a budget of $398 million and connected Gravina Island and its 50 residents to Ketchikan. The nicknamed ‘bridge to nowhere’ passed in the ‘Transportation Extension Act of 2011’, yet was later cancelled in 2015.
- EXAMPLE. In 2016, Congress passed legislation to spend $475 million on a new navy ship that the defence secretary and navy lobbied against (Pentagon report highlighted its vulnerability), the project was supported by Representative Byrne (Alabama) and Ribble (Wisconsin) who represented districts with major shipbuilding companies. - Financial advantage
- The average cost of winning a Senate seat was $10.4 million (+25% from 2014), winning a seat in the House of Representatives was over $1 million.
- This level of funding is far less if the candidate is a known quantity.
- Incumbents can attract more money than challengers as they lack funding and are subject to well-funded negative adverts.
- EXAMPLE. In 2016, Incumbent Senators raised an average of $12.7 million compared to just $1.6 million from challengers (vicious cycle).
14
Q
What factors affect voting behaviour within Congress?
A
VOTING BEHAVIOUR
- Constituency Representation/Public Opinion
a) Representatives are elected to represent congressional districts whilst Senators are elected to represent entire states.
b) Protect cultural, economic or social interests of their respected area.
- EXAMPLE. Brady Amendments to the ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2018’ meant that copyrighted songs were ‘capital assets’ and therefore subject to lower tax rates on request by Representative member Diane Black, who’s district included Nashville (famed for songwriting and country music).
c) Important to be attentive to voters as primaries determine who represents their party on the ballot (not the party itself).
- EXAMPLE. In 2014 Eric Cantor lost the Republican primary in Virginia despite being the House ‘Majority Leader’ and the fact that his competitor was a Tea Party member. However, criticised for not spending enough time in his district, not being conservative enough and not vocal enough in opposition to Obama.
d) Local politics sometimes overshadow national politics
- EXAMPLE. In 2009, several Democrats dropped their support for Obamacare after constituent concerns with the bill. Similarly, 10 moderate Republicans opposed the repealing of this act in March 2017 (areas that similarly voted for Hillary in 2016).
- EXAMPLE. IN 2014, the Sheboygan Press (Wisconsin) criticised Congressman Tom Petri for spending only 1/3rd of his time in the state (including holidays). Paul Ryan (Chair of the House Budget spent 218 days in Wisconsin). - Party Representation
a) Most Congressmen are elected on a party basis (party-based primaries) or districts which ideologically agrees with the representative (such as the ‘Bible Belt’ in South US being predominantly socially conservative evangelical Protestantism). Party loyalty is therefore expected.
b) Considerable growth in party-line voting and partisanship with a polarization of ideologies in America and the public.
- EXAMPLE. Obama’s 2009 stimulus budget was voted against by all Republicans due to partisanship (extreme party loyalty) rather than the ideological belief that the market with self-stabilise. However, 11 southern Democrats also voted against this measure following local opinion.
c) Lack of 3rd parties in Congress with only 2 independents in the Senate (but both vote with Democrats). The breadth of ideology (not owning one cohesive ideology) through factions within the two wings makes it difficult for a 3rd party to find an identity. - Functional Representation
a) Ensuring that socioeconomic groups are represented regardless of constituent state or district lines.
b) Through time, Congress has grown in diversity to be more ‘representative of the US population’. Yet this diversity in Women, African American and Hispanics is disproportional to the US population.
- EXAMPLE. The 116th Congress 2019, 22% of the House of Representatives and Senate are racial or from ethnic minorities whereas Hispanics/African Americans account for around 30% of the population.
- EXAMPLE. House of Representatives, New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Hispanic) was the youngest woman to serve in the United States Congress at aged 29.
- EXAMPLE. Mia Love (2015-2019) was the first black Republican Congresswoman.
- EXAMPLE. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar (first Somali-American) are the first two Muslim women elected to Congress in US history in 2018.
- EXAMPLE. Sharice Davids is the first Native American woman elected to Congress in 2018.
- EXAMPLE. Ayanna Pressley has become Massachusetts’ 1st black congresswoman.
c) Congressional districts have been gerrymandered to create ‘majority-minority’ districts to favour minorities by making them the majority of the population.
- EXAMPLE. In 2015, there were 122 majority-minority districts in the House. North Carolina’s District 12 is one of the most gerrymandered districts of African American - yet in 2016 and 2018 the federal courts ruled that such districts were unlawful so they were redrawn. - Congressional Caucuses
a) Caucuses are groups of individuals who represent the interest of those citizens who share a common policy goal (people, industry, ideology…).
- EXAMPLE. The Congressional Women’s Caucus works across party lines to support legislation that advances the rights of women (policy issue more important that party ideology).
- EXAMPLE. The Congressional Steel Caucus (under 100 members) fights for the health of the domestic steel industry. Trump’s introduction of a 25% tariff on foreign steel imports was backed by the Steel Caucus Chair Representative Bost.
- EXAMPLE. The Blue Dog Democrat caucus is based on Conservative ideology (more centralist/right-wing). - Pressure Groups and Lobbyists
a) Lobbyists have a huge influence in Washington DC behind votes in Congress through means such as donations.
b) Huge business with 10,000 ‘professional lobbyists’ in 2018 having spending increased to over $3 billion annually, many Congressmen join these businesses once they have left Capitol hill.
- EXAMPLE. Pharmaceutical Companies have donated over $2.5 billion to Congress in the last 10 years, with 90% of the House and 97% of the Senate members receiving pharmaceutical campaign contributions in return for flexible legislation (laws were prevented which would harm the industry, such as the preventing the mass prescribing of opioids dropped). (Such as Ian Read, CEO of Pfizer, and his relationship with Trump in 2017).
- EXAMPLE. After the 2012 Newtown shootings, Obama was unsuccessful in passing legislation for gun control, despite clear majority public support as pressure from the NRA (National Rifle Association) gained media coverage.
15
Q
What is the difference between descriptive and functional representation?
A
DESCRIPTIVE REPRESENTATION
- The political belief that those elected should not only represent those in their constituency but also those with whom they share descriptive characteristics with (age, gender, ethnicity, religion…).
FUNCTIONAL REPRESENTATION
- A political belief that those elected should represent economic or social groups within the wider community, Through the influence of lobbyists or pressure groups which represent the vire of underrepresented groups in legislature.
