Chapter 2 - 2/4 - The functions of Congress Flashcards
What three functions does Congress fulfil?
- representation
- legislation
- oversight
What is the trustee model of representation?
Representatives make decisions based on their own judgement - seen by some as being too elitist.
What is the delegate model of representation?
Representatives act solely on the wishes of those they represent, not using their own judgement in matters.
What advantages do incumbents have when seeking re-election?
- Name recognition.
- Provided with an official government website.
- Able to mail constituents at Congress’ expense.
- Pork barrel politics.
- Easier to raise funds for campaigns.
- Gerrymandering after every census.
How much was spent on pork barrel politics in 2019?
$15.3 billion
What model of representation do congressmen and senators tend to follow?
Trustee model
What are the 6 factors that affect voting behaviour?
- Political parties.
- Congressional caucuses.
- The administration.
- The constituency.
- Pressure groups.
- Lobbyists.
What is a party unity vote?
A vote in the House or Senate in which the majority of one party votes against the majority of the other party.
When do party unity votes tend to occur?
When the issue is a contentious, ideological matter, such as civil liberties, taxation, or gun control.
What is a congressional caucus?
An association of members of Congress that pursue common legislative objectives.
What are the four congressional caucuses?
- House Republican caucus.
- House Democratic caucus.
- Senate Republican caucus.
- Senate Democratic caucus.
What are the three main functions of congressional caucuses?
- Education
- Agenda setting
- Encouraging support
How do caucuses fulfil their educational function?
They might provide information to members on proposed legislation, offer policy briefings, and publish briefing papers.
How do congressional caucuses fulfil their agenda-setting function?
They might co-sponsor legislation, circulate letters to drum up support, meet with party leadership to push their cause, and lobby relevant committee members.
How do members of Congress keep in touch and updated about the views of their constituents while they are performing their jobs in Congress?
- They keep in touch with their offices back in their constituency via phone and email.
- They receive phone calls, letters, emails, and tweets from constituents themselves.
- They read the local newspapers.
- They regularly visit back home.
How do members of Congress engage with their constituents?
- Hold town hall meetings.
- Hold surgeries.
- Making visits around the state.
- Appearing on local radio.
- Local media.
- Visiting locals schools, hospitals, businesses.
How many Republican members of the House voted against Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017) because it ran counter to their constituents’ interests?
12
What is the street in Washington DC where lots of lobbyists have their offices?
The K Street corridor.
What are the six stages of the legislation process?
1 - Introduction 2 - Committee stage 3 - Timetabling 4 - Floor debate and vote 5 - Conference committee 6 - President
What happens in the introduction of a bill?
It is purely a formality. In the House a copy of the bill is simply placed on the clerk’s desk and in the Senate the title of the bill is just read out.
What percentage of bills introduced to Congress become law?
2-4%
What is the most important stage of the passage of a bill?
Committee stage
Why is the standing committee stage of a bill so important?
Standing committee members are regarded as the policy specialists and they have the power to amend everything - anything can be added or removed from the bill at this stage.
Professor M.J.C. Vile quote (1999) on standing committees?
“they are the sieve through which all legislation is poured”
What is the unanimous consent agreement in the Senate?
An agreement between the Senate majority and minority leaders on the order in which bills will be debated in the Senate.
What does the House Rules Committee do?
It is responsible for prioritising bills coming from committee stage onto the House floor for debating and voting.
Where does the House Rules Committee get its name from?
It decides the rules by which bills can be debated.
What are the types of rules the House Rules Committee can implement?
- Open rules - unlimited amendments are allowed.
- Modified rules - limited number of amendments; only certain sections can be amended; only certain members can propose amendments.
- Closed rules - no amendments allowed.
Who makes up the majority of the House Rules Committee members?
Membership is skewed in favour of the majority party; in 2019 there were thirteen members: 9 Democrats and 4 Republicans.
What sort of majority is required for both amendments and the passing of the whole bill?
Simple majorities
Where can filibusters be used?
In the Senate.
What are the details of the longest filibuster?
Done by Strom Thurmond in 1957 on a civil rights bill; it lasted over 24 hours.
How can a filibuster be ended?
Cloture
What is a cloture?
A device for ending a filibuster that must be signed by 16 senators and then voted for by 3/5 (60) of the entire Senate.
How many conference committees were there in the 115th Congress (2015-17)?
7
Why have conference committees been declining over the past 25 years?
In an attempt to centralise power with the party leadership, one chamber is simply asked to adopt the other chamber’s bill.
When was the last time a conference committee had to be used?
2017, for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Why might a president leave a bill on their desk?
They may not have any position on the bill and so simply leave it to become law after 10 days, or they may wish to veto it but know the veto would be overturned.
What is meant by oversight?
Congressional review and investigation of the activities of the executive branch of government.
When is oversight of the executive effective?
In times of divided government.
Who controlled the Senate in 1999 when the Democratic President Clinton had his Nuclear Test Ban Treaty rejected?
The Republicans
In 2003 and 2004, when the Republicans controlled both the presidency and Congress, how many oversight hearings were there?
37
What 7 factors affect the relationship between Congress and the presidency?
- Party control - oversight drops considerably when Congress and the president are from the same party.
- Party polarisation - bipartisanship still occurs (CARES Act 2020) but these is rare.
- Policy area - Congress is able to perform more oversight on domestic policy than on foreign policy, where the president can evade their influence.
- Election cycle - members will put the interests of their constituents before the president when up for election, especially if the president is unpopular or a lame duck.
- Presidential approval ratings - when the president is unpopular, Congress can exert more influence.
- Congressional approval ratings - Congress is seen as self-interested and unproductive. In 2020, Trump’s approval rating was 41%, but this was still much better than Congress’ 18%, meaning they could not claim to possess greater legitimacy.
- National events - in times of national emergency, Congress will often defer to the president.
Why does most of the oversight performed by Congress take place in the committee rooms?
Because the executive is not allowed into the chambers of Congress, and therefore has to be done in committee rooms.
How is the party balance of standing committees decided?
In proportion to the party balance in the chamber.
What are the two functions of House standing committees?
- Conduct the committee stage of bills.
- Conduct investigations.
What are the three functions of Senate standing committees?
- Conduct the committee stage of bills.
- Conduct investigations.
- Confirm presidential appointments.
How is the committee stage of a bill conducted by standing committees in both chambers?
They hold ‘hearings’ at which ‘witnesses’ appear; these might be members of the executive, members of Congress, people from interest groups or simply members of the public.
What happened at the end of the committee stage of a bill?
A vote is taken by the committee on whether to pass the bill onto the full chamber for debate and votes; it is possible for a bill to die here.
What investigation did the House Armed Services Committee carry out in 2016?
They investigated the US strategy for Syria and Iraq.
Is a vote in the Senate committee stage of a presidential appointment binding?
No, but the result at committee will accurately reflect the vote in the Senate should the nomination be carried forward. If a nomination fails to gain majority support at committee then the nomination will be dropped.
When was Donald Trump impeached?
2019 and 2021
When was Bill Clinton impeached?
1997
Why was Bill Clinton impeached?
Sexual harassment accusations and Monica Lewinsky scandal.
Why might the power of impeachment be ineffective?
Of the four times a president has been impeached, the Senate has acquitted them each time.
Why might the power of impeachment be considered effective?
Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment.
What is needed to convict a presidential impeachment?
2/3 majority
What did Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann say about Congressional oversight in 2007?
“it has limited ability”
How many Supreme Court Justices have been impeached?
One
Who was the Supreme Court Justice that was impeached and when?
Justice Samuel Chase in 1804 - he was acquitted by the Senate.
How many Justices are there on the Supreme Court?
9
Who has the power to change the number of Supreme Court Justices?
Congress, but it would be the president who would then nominate people if Congress were to increase the number of Justices.
Who is Thomas Porteous and what happened to him?
District court judge who was successfully impeached by Congress in 2010 for accepting bribes and giving false statements.
What advantages do incumbents have over their challengers?
- They are provided with an official website to advertise all they have done and provide a way for constituents to contact them.
- Franking privileges allow them to mail people at Congresses expense, increasing name recognition.
- They might hold positions of important committees.
What is pork barrel politics?
The term used to refer to funds provided for superfluous projects in the hope constituents will re-elect their incumbent as a way of saying thanks.
Give an example of pork barrel politics?
In 2011 Montana State University received more than $740,000 to research the use of sheep grazing as a means of weed control.
How much more money did incumbent senators and representatives raise in 2018 than their rivals?
Senators raised 7x more than their challengers whereas representatives raised 8x more.
What is gerrymandering?
The reshaping of congressional districts to give one party an advantage.
What is the CBC?
Congressional Black Caucus
When was the Congressional Black Caucus founded?
March 1971
What party do the members of the CBC belong to?
All members are from the Democratic Party.
Who is the chair of the CBC?
Joyce Beatty, as of January 2021.
IceCream Tastes Fucking Crazy Powerful
- Introduction.
- Committee.
- Timetabling.
- Floor debate.
- Conference.
- President.
