Ch 12 Congress Flashcards
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
The Constitution & Congress
how old to work in hor? senate? other regulation?
House:25yrs-old, live in state
Senate: 30yrs-old, live in state
Powers of Congress (7)
many enumerated powers
Declare war taxation postal matters issue patents coin money set weights & measures create courts
Power of Congress to declare war means?
pres. prosecutes war but Congress declares war (not replay of King George)
Most important priority of ALL MCs (members of congress)?
GET REELECTED (ppl w/ power & wannabe’s) (want to stay as long as possible)
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
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
Ohio Congressional District
Malaportion ex?
1 district that has out of step population it represents from another, like 2 senators irrespective of size
(Congressional) Funding
individual limits ($5,000 for each election primary & general)
(Congressional) Funding
PACs?
Political Action Committee - funding $ operations that are coordinated w/ campaign (popular in HOR)
(Congressional) Funding
Bundlers?
give $ in the name of other ppl/ large groups
(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)
Incumbency
means?
a person that already holds the job
Incumbency
incumbency advantage?
incumbency advantage: the electoral edge afforded to those already in office
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)
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)
Role of Congress
role of balance-of-power (zero-sum equation)
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
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)
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?
NO
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)
