Chapter 4 Flashcards
another word for federal government
congress
Jobs of Congress:
- represent the people and do the day to day work
- they translate the will of the people into law
Bicameral (2 houses) why?
- historical reasons (British parliament had 2 houses)
- practical reasons: settled conflict between the small and large states
- theoretical reason: check and balance each other
define terms of congress
length of time an elected official serves (2 years)
time period during which congress conducts its business (2 sessions per term)
Session
to suspend business temporarily during a session
recess
to suspend business until the next session
adjourn
neither house can adjourn without the consent of the other
“sine die”
the president has the power to end a session when the 2 houses can’t agree to adjourn
prorogue
when the president calls congress for an emergency meeting
special session
lower house
house of representatives
why do the members of the house of representatives serve a short term?
kept short so they will stay in contact with the people
what do the house of representatives represent
represent their district not the entire state
3 powers the house of representatives has:
- impeach the president
- decide presidential election if no clear winner
- all tax bills start here (power of the purse)
these seats are redistributed every 10 years
reapportionment
why does the party in power usually lose its power during the midterm election?
the party in power is blamed for all the problems in the country
voting block
districts
geographic district from which one representative is chosen from a field of candidates
single-member district
representative chosen from the stats as a whole district lines are drawn by state legislatures of the party in power
large district
the drawing of district lines to the advantage of the party power
gerry mandering
2 ways gerry mandering is done:
packing: concentrate the opps voters in as few districts as possible
cracking: spread the opps voters as many districts as possible
qualification for the house members:
- must be 25 y/o
- must have been a citizen for 7 years
- must be a resident of the state
upper house
senate
the people they represent (entire state)
constituencies
how many terms does a senate serve
6 year term (no limit) focus on the big picture of the state
qualifications of a senator
- at least 30 years old
- citizen of USA- 9 years
- live in the state
powers of a senator (3)
- holds impeachment trial
- ratify treaties
- confirms executive office appointment (judges,cabinet, etc)
5 major roles of a member of congress:
- legislators-make laws
- representatives- voice of the people
- committee members- screen bills
- servants to constituents- provide help to the people
- politician- work for the government
process through which congress checks to see if the executive branch is following its policies
oversight function
2 major types of committee/congress
- standing committee (permanent) deal with subject matter (education, finance, environmental, agriculture)
- special committee (temporary) deal with investigation and pres. appointments (watergate, supreme court nominees)
proposed law
bill
2 types of bill:
public bill: law involving everyone
private bill: law involving specific group/area
where do ideas for bills come from?
- executive branch
- people
- congressmen
- special interest groups (industry, organizations,etc)
how a bill becomes a law (6 steps)
- billion introduced by a congressmen
- committee action (standing committee) *most bills die here
- floor action- full house/senate-debate/vote
- conference action/committee (members from both houses)
- floor action-same as step #3
- president action (3 choices)
3 choices of president action
sign-becomes law
veto-refuse to sign
pocket veto
