3.Legislature Flashcards
Partisanship causing deadlock in Congress
e.g. In June 2016 there was a vote in the Senate on the expansion of federal background checks on gun sales, but, both party’s proposals failed due to highly partisan voting with only 1 Republican voting in favour of both gun control measures and 4 Democrats voting against their party
Divided Government causing deadlock (over appointments) in Congress
Republican majority Senate took no action on Democratic President Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland, in 2016
Weak party discipline causing deadlock in Congress
e.g. In 2017, President Trump’s American Healthcare Act (AHCA) initially failed to even reach a vote in the House due to lack of support from multiple Republican groups, and failed to pass in the Senate
Deadlock in Congress causing Government Shutdowns
e.g. In October 2013 no agreement was made and parts of the federal government shutdown for 16 days when Republicans demanded the spending bill include provisions to strip funding from Obamacare or delay its implementation
No deadlock in Congress because Landmark legislation is still passed
e.g. Just 3 days after 9/11, Congress overwhelmingly voted for the authorization for Use of Military Force against those responsible for the attacks and then quickly passed the USA PATRIOT Act
Deadlock is caused by partisanship, not the system of government
e.g. The Republican ‘Hastert Rule’ means that a Republican Speaker of the House should not allow a bill to be brought to a floor vote unless a majority of Republican Members of the House support it, meaning bills that need Democrat votes to pass are not brought to a vote preventing bipartisanship
The role of the White House in overcoming deadlock
-e.g. Despite reform failures in Congress, in 2014, President Obama was able to bypass Congress with an executive order that gave temporary legal status to millions of illegal immigrants and protected young immigrants who arrived with children via the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program
-Principle of separation of powers makes this possible
The role of the Supreme Court in overcoming deadlock
-e.g. The Supreme Court also help to stop the gridlock caused by Republicans seeking to halt the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, by making it clear that it was permitted by the Constitution in National Federation of Independent Businesses v Sebelius 2012
-Principle of separation of powers makes this possible
The role of the states in overcoming deadlock
The use of cannabis remains illegal under federal law, however, 18 states have legalised cannabis
Republican Party control over Standing Committee Chairs
-The Republicans have amended the seniority rule in their party in both houses by adopting term limits of 6 years for committee chairs when they are in the majority
-On top of this, when they are in the majority, House Republicans use their Republican Party Steering Committee, which is dominated by the Republican leadership, to play a key role in determining who will be awarded the committee chairs rather than relying solely on seniority
Power of committees
-2019 hearing of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
-Chaired by a Democrat and focused on the inhumane treatment of children on the US border with Mexico
-May have been political as Democrats were speaking about migrants locked up at the border at the time
The effect of control of Congress on congressional oversight
-Under President George W. Bush , during the 108th Congress, a Republican trifecta over the legislature and executive meant, there were only 37 oversight hearings held
Congressional oversight used to embarrass the executive
-e.g. Benghazi Hearings in 2014, saw a huge amount of House oversight on Hillary Clinton most likely done to damage her image as she was the front-runner for the Democratic Party’s bid on presidency in 2016
The popular vote impacting congressional oversight
e.g. Donald Trump actually lost the popular vote in 2016 and was thus more vulnerable to congressional scrutiny
A national crisis impacting congressional oversight
e.g. 9/11 will usually strengthen President George W. Bush hand at Congress’s expense
