Ch 4 Flashcards
STUDY TIP:
bicameral Congress made to represent different constituencies. Know differences between:
- membership
- powers
- rules
of HoR and Senate
HoR:
- reflects constituent wishes
- 1 district = 1 rep
- more rules, formality, ldrship pwr
Senate:
- reflects federal wishes
- entire state
- less rules, formality, more indvdl power
STUDY TIP:
Differences btwn selection process + term lengths of HoR and Senate are highly important — may appear on exam
HoR:
- shorter term (2 years)
- at least 25 (younger)
Senate
- longer term (6 years)
- at least 30 (older)
STUDY TIP:
Know the constitutional powers of congress
lawmaking
- economic
- national
- foreign
budgeting
- sets fed budget
- oversees agency budgets
oversight of bureaucracy + other officials
- make sure everyone is acting legally
- can conduct hearings + investigatns
STUDY TIP:
Know how Congress can check executive, judicial, bureaucracy
Know Constitutional + informal powers Congress can use to influence branches
-
STUDY TIP:
Incumbency advantage is important
- Why does it exist?
- Why is advantage better for HoR than for senators
How many reps make up the HoR?
435
How many years does HoR serve?
2 years
HoR: District or Entire State
District
How old does HoR have to be
25 y.o.
Senate: District or Entire State
Entire State
Both Senate and HoR have to live in the states they represent
true!!!!
How many years does Senate serve?
6 years (1/3 of house changes every 2 years. staggered)
How is HoR apportioned?
census
What does the census track? (2 things)
- how many people are in the U.S.
- where those people live
Enumerated Congress powers (5)
- Passing federal budget
- raising revenue (taxes) (HoR)
- coining money
- declaring war
- raise + maintain armed forces
Speaker of the House
What is it responsible for?
- decides who talks or not in debates
- counts votes
- appoints people to committee
Speaker of the Senate
- VP
- really only breaks ties
Standing Committee
+ house and senate example
always remains
Senate: Approporiations (federal funds)
House: Ways and Means (taxation)
Joint committee
Members from both house + senate
- Joint of Library
- Joint of Printing
Usually persist, but can also be short term
Select committee
Committee only banded together for a specific purpose (temporary)
Conference committee
hamemrs out differences between bills
House rules committee
- Gatekeeps all legislation!!!
- decides when voting
- assigns bills to committees
House - committee of the whole
bill amendments are debated quicker
House - discharge petition
maj vote - bill brought out of committe for a vote
Senate - Filibuster
Stalling bill
Senate - cloture rule
3/5 senate agrees to SHUT UP FILIBUSTERS!
Senate - unanimous consent
can restrict some privileges to get work done faster
Bill
- sponsored
- changes (provisions)
- pork barrel spending (funds for a specific district) - Floor for vote
- logrolling (vote trading)
Mandatory Spending
required by law
Medicare + Medicaid
Discretionary Spending
left over
- fed employees
-
Deficit spending
us spends too much.. oopsie doodle
either borrow/raise taxes
partisanship vs bipartisanship
- leaning towards 1 party
- collaborate parties
delegate vs trustee vs politico
- appeals to people
- votes based on judgement
- does both when necessary
gridlock
legis process goes into standstill bc of disagreement
polarization
parties go to extreme ideologies
divided govt
pres and congress are from 2 different parties
- can lead to gridlock
OMB
which brqanch is it part of?
who does it help?
Office of Management and Budget
- part of Exec branch
- helps pres make budget
