Chapter 10 Flashcards
what 3 things does majority rule in congress do?
- leads to instability
- policy reversals, “cycling”
- endless series of changing winning coalitions
what is structure induced equilibrium?
stability of political control results from institutions which suppress the underlying stability, like the procedural rules of congress
how was religion a barrier to statehood?
republicans didn’t want the democrats in religious territories to be able to influence the nation if their territory were to become a state
how did churches solve the barriers to statehood?
Latter day saints and Catholics adopted the American idea of a church, by limiting women roles, becoming more secular, and basically faking it to make it
what unique role in impeachment does the House have?
the power to impeach public officials, president included
what unique powers does the Senate have in impeachment?
they can hold a trial and with a 2/3 majority can decide to remove a public official from office
what are 2 other powers that the Senate has?
- the power to approve treaties
2. the power to review presidential appointments
what is an example of a failed policy reversal?
the Republican failure to repeal Obamacare
what is a filibuster?
a Senate rule (not in the constitution) where an individual Senator can stall a vote indefinitely or until a 60-vote cloture is reached
what happens when the same political party controls both executive and legislative branches?
they agree on policy prescriptions and power can be centralized
what happens when different political parties control the legislative and executive branches?
the government is divided and power is dispersed throughout government
what happens no matter who controls the legislative and executive branches?
they both have to negotiate to make government effect
ex. No Social Security for Nazi’s Act
what is the floor?
the full chamber, either in House or Senate, bills must have unanimous consent by all Senators in order to be brought to the floor
what is a legislative hold?
an informal way for a senator to object to a bill or other measure, effectively halts Senate proceedings on that issue, sometimes for weeks or longer
are all votes required to be conducted by role-call?
no, only a few dozen votes per session are important enough for that
what is a conference committee?
if different versions of a bill pass, a conference committee must reconcile them
what is presidential action in the legislative process?
the president reserves the power to veto legislation
what is a congressional caucus?
a group of House or Senate members who convene regularly to discuss common interests; may share political outlook, race, gender, or geography
what do the 2 chambers of congress represent?
different national priorities
which chamber of congress do Populists like?
the responsive House
which chamber of congress do advocates of stability prefer?
the deliberate Senate, which filibusters and legislative holds that make it more difficult to pass legislation
“cooling saucer of congress”
what is the conundrum that all members of congress face?
whether to do what they think is best (delegate representation), or what their constituents want (trustee representation)
what takes up a huge amount of congress members’ time and attention?
fundraising for their constant campaign
what do congress members pay special attention to?
their home style; most go back to their constituency every week
what does the constant running back home of congressional members do to the work week?
compresses it into the period from Tue-Thurs
who is the chief administrative officer of the House?
Speaker of the House, voted by the majority party
what is the President pro tempore?
the majority party senator with the longest Senate service
who is the leader of the Senate?
the Senate majority leader, elected by the Senators
what does the House majority leader do?
second in command, acts as the majority party’s floor manager, spokesperson, and negotiator
what does the Speaker of the House do?
public face of the House, presides over the chamber on special occasions, rules on procedural issues, chooses members for committees, assigns legislation to committees, and “maintains order and civility”
who formally resides over the Senate?
the Vice President
who are the workhorses of congress?
committees
what do congressional committees do?
draft legislation, sponsor hearings, oversee the executive branch, and draft the federal budget
why have committees lasted for so long?
- inertia, it is hard to remake congress
2. they just work
what is an earmark?
a legislative item usually included in spending “appropriations” bills that directs congress to fund a particular item in a district or state
how many whips are in the House leadership?
10
which chamber allows more individual action?
the Senate
what are the 4 complaints about committees?
- they fragment Congress
- hide action from public view
- accommodates constituents seeking individual favors
- make it difficult to pass major legislation
what is a committee hearing?
a way for committees to gather information and gauge members’ support for legislation. hearings usually feature witnesses who submit testimony, make an oral presentation, and answer questions from members of congress
what are the 4 major tasks that committees perform once assigned a bill?
- hold hearings on policy topics
- prepare legislation for floor consideration
- kill legislation
- exercise oversight
what is a committee markup session?
a gathering of a full committee to draft the final version of a bill before the committee votes on it
what is unanimous consent?
a Senate requirement, applied to most of that body’s business, that all senators agree before an action can proceed
what is a cloture vote?
the Senate’s only approved method for halting a filibuster or lifting a legislative hold. if 60 senators (3/5 of the body) vote for cloture, the measure can proceed to a vote
(used to only need 2/3 majority, changed in 1975)
what is a voice vote?
a congressional vote in which the presiding officer asks those for and against to say “yea” or “nay” and announces the result. no record is kept of House or Senate members voting on each side
what is a roll-call vote?
a congressional vote in which each members’ vote is recorded, either by roll call (Senate) or electronically (House)
what is a veto?
the constitutional procedure by which a president can prevent enactment of legislation passed by congress
what percent of proposed legislation never becomes law?
97%
what makes congress so unpopular?
partisan fighting and gridlock
what are the 3 most popular proposed congressional reforms?
- imposing term limits
- limits on lobbyists
- public education about what congress really does
