Ch 12 Congress Flashcards by Lauren Bell

The Constitution & Congress

what does a congressmen look like? congress in constitution where?

Mostly white, male, highly educated, generally well off $ (not representative of U.S.)
Article 1

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The Constitution & Congress

how old to work in hor? senate? other regulation?

House:25yrs-old, live in state
Senate: 30yrs-old, live in state

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Powers of Congress (7)

many enumerated powers

Declare war
taxation
postal matters 
issue patents
coin money
set weights &amp; measures 
create courts

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Power of Congress to declare war means?

pres. prosecutes war but Congress declares war (not replay of King George)

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Most important priority of ALL MCs (members of congress)?

GET REELECTED (ppl w/ power & wannabe’s) (want to stay as long as possible)

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Congressional seats (House of Reps)
how is it assembled? (3 parts)

Census- every 10 yrs
Apportionment: deciding how many congressional seats a state gets (Senate doesn’t do this)
Redistricting: redrawing of state district boundaries

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Ohio Congressional District

Gerry-Mandering ex?

map & see concentration of Chinese who vote democratic, illegal but can bend rules
separate the Chinese to give republicans an advantage

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Ohio Congressional District

Malaportion ex?

1 district that has out of step population it represents from another, like 2 senators irrespective of size

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(Congressional) Funding

individual limits ($5,000 for each election primary & general)

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(Congressional) Funding

PACs?

Political Action Committee - funding $ operations that are coordinated w/ campaign (popular in HOR)

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(Congressional) Funding

Bundlers?

give $ in the name of other ppl/ large groups

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(Congressional) Funding

Citizen’s United, 527s,501c4s

Citizen’s United- organization that spends $ to advance ideas, protected by 1st amendment
527s- can’t work w/ campaign but can run ads
501c4s- nonprofit, operate for improving the world (#s directly from US tax code)

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Incumbency

means?

a person that already holds the job

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Incumbency

incumbency advantage?

incumbency advantage: the electoral edge afforded to those already in office

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Incumbency

incumbency advantage gained via… (5)

edge in visibility (know their names already)
experience (job experience, already doing the job)
organization (put together that got them elected know how to do that again)
fund raising ability (Congress 90% reelect chance, $ to 90%)
franking privileges (US postal free, running opponent has to pay)

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Reasons why incumbents lose (4 reasons)

not often but they do

redistricting(facing grow of ppl that dont know their name)
scandals(own or being associated w/ someone that had 1)
coattails(either riding in or out on someones political good or bad fortunes, riding on someones reputation can be good or bad, ex:RR-good,in /Nixon-bad,out)
midterm elections (turnout smaller)

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Role of Congress

role of balance-of-power (zero-sum equation)

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Role of Congress

zero-sum equation meaning? ex?

one side to gain, other side has to lose power

ex: exec. have gained more power & leg has lost power

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Role of Congress

representational roles? (Congress members represent themselves as either a….___ or ___?

trustee (go to Congress & make decisions that benefit country @ large, not individual) (trust them to do right thing)
delegate (expect ppl to do something for me, represent you directly)

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Key Differences btwn House and Senate

house (3) senate (4)

House
-intiate revenue bills, 2 yr term, 435 (as pop. grows->larger number)
Senate
-advise&consent (pres look to senate), 6 yr term, 100 members, foreign policy

Organization of Congress Party Leadership

House

Speaker of the House (2 parties in comp. ->majority party wins)
Majority leader (in charge of majority party)
Minority leader
Majority whip (chief disciplinarian)
Minority whip (whips party into shape)

Organization of Congress Party Leadership

Senate

President Pro Tempore (let ppl talk, longest standing member in majority party, vice pres can come to this)
Majority leader (like 2nd to speaker)
Minority leader
Majority whip 
Minority whip

Party Caucus Roles (3)

Caucus=group

select officers (individual parties elect)
review committee assignments
impose discipline

Party Caucus Roles: review committee assignments

power, advance political career by getting ppl to like you
ex) farm state-> agriculture committee to come back to voter & say you need to keep me in Congress bc i am doing good for you
committee assigned can either damage or benefit you

Congress @ Work- The Committee System | types (5)?

``` Standing Committees Joint Committees Conference Committees Ad Hoc, Special, or Select Committees Sub-Committees ```

Congress @ Work- The Committee System: Standing | what are they? ex? who is assigned?

always there, don't have to be reauthorized, absolute core of Congress committees ex) agriculture (recurring issues) (every member of Congress gets assigned to at least 1)

Congress @ Work- The Committee System: Joint

comprised of members of both chambers

Congress @ Work- The Committee System: Conference

comprised of members of both chambers, passage of single bills

Congress @ Work- The Committee System: Ad Hoc, Special, or Select what are they? example? compared to?

single purpose puts them together, then dispersed ex) Watergate (opposite of standing)

Congress @ Work- The Committee System: Sub | what are they? ex?

answer to standing, broad issues brought to specific details | ex) agriculture but committee of corn

How a bill becomes a law - House

introduced (introduce idea, read to speaker who decides hand down or not) committee (chair person decides) sub-committee (chair decides, go to mark-up session want my support accept library on corn bill) committee (strike & add, vote like sub) rules committee (parameters, success of what they want, time) full house committee of the whole (majority has every committee chair person (R->all R) & speakership

Pork Politics | what does this make ppl believe?

(amendments to the bills) items add to bill cost->debt in country (not really) actually, cutting the most extreme forms of pork wouldn't eliminate the federal deficit

Pork Politics: credit claiming

associating oneself w/ a specific cause, issue, &/or policy

Pork Politics | who used pork?

FDR used pork very creatively to get A-bomb built | blank check for 100 million dollars, then he'll set up institutions for Congress

How a bill becomes a law - Senate

``` Introduced Committee Sub-Committee Committee Full Senate "hold" "filibuster" CLOTURE: Magic 60 votes ```

How a bill becomes a law | does it matter whether the Senate or House votes first?

How a bill becomes a law - Senate | is there a rules committee?

Senate has rules committee dictated by Senate leadership | House has rules committee

How a bill becomes a law - Senate | "hold"

1 senator can stop whole legislative process until they get what they want, then bill moves forward to be voted on

How a bill becomes a law - Senate "filibuster" ex? 60 vote issue?

opportunity for senate member to monopolize Senate debate floor & prevent voting of a bill from coming up - ex) talk about anything they want to prevent voting of 1 bill, Thurman spoke for 24 hrs to prevent voting of Civil Rights, now they usually tag team to stall - Senate dysfunctional bc (60) majority (D vs R)

How a bill becomes a law - Final Actions

has to go get both sides bc Senate changed bill too | Conference Committee "final version"->S&HOR->Pres. sign/veto, pocket veto

How a bill becomes a law - Final Actions | Pres. sign/ veto? pocket veto? what happens if each are done and what does pocket veto mean?

sign becomes law veto, red stamp, bill returned to both chambers & if 2/3 of each, then overrides veto pocket veto: refuses to sign or veto & after 10 business days-> bill automatically = law if Congress in session, vetoed if not in session pocket veto bc they don't want name associated w/ controversial bill

How a bill becomes a law - Final Actions | why would they have to go through the cycle again? if the bill contained what?

if the bill contained $$

How a bill becomes a law - Senate | what trumps filibuster and prevents it from even happening?

Cloture prevents filibuster (if theres a 60 majority vote)

Influence on Decisions (5)

Interest groups ($ getting ppl elected) Colleagues (this for that, support mine, I support yours) Political Parties (majorities & minorities, whips) Staff (Congress ppl rely on staff to advise them to make decisions) Constituents (us, ppl)

Congressional Oversight of Exec. Branch (3) | checks and balances

``` Foreign Affairs (Senate agree on treaties & war) Conformation of Presidential Appointments Impeachment process ```

Impeachment Process (been tried)- House

House: power to impeach (bring charges)- a majority vote

Impeachment Process (been tried)- Senate

(judge and jury) | power to try- a 2/3s vote to convict

Impeachment Process (been tried)- Judiciary

Supreme court chief justice presides | doesn't get to vote, acts as judge to make sure trial is fair & constitutional

``` Impeachment Process (been tried) who were the 2 presidents impeached? ```

Andrew Johnson & Bill Clinton - neither convicted - didn't have 2/3rds vote to convict - Nixon did file impeachment, but he quit before process (never actually tried)