Chapter 5 Flashcards
Qualifications and Term of Office of a member of the House
- 25 yrs old
- citizen for 7 yrs
- two year terms
- begin terms on even years
reapportionment
population of each state determines the new number of reps to which each state is entitled
Baker v. Carr
federal courts could decide conflicts over drawing district boundaries
Reynolds v. Sims
the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment required that seats in both houses of the Alabama State legislature be apportioned on a population basis
Wesberry v. Sanders
the Constitution clearly intended that a vote in one congressional district was to be worth the same as a vote in another district
gerrymandering
the political party controlling the state government draws a district’s boundaries to gain an advantage in elections
Qualifications and Term of Office of a member of the Senate
- 30 yrs old
- citizen for 9 yrs
- 2 per state
- 6 year terms
- 1/3 of senators run for reelections every 2 years
27th Amendment
prohibits a sitting Congress from giving itself a pay raise
franking privilege
Congress pays for members’ work related expenses
Purposes of Leaders in the House (6)
- organizing and unifying party members
- scheduling the work of the House
- making certain that lawmakers are present for key floor votes
- distributing and collecting info
- keeping the House in touch with the president
- influencing lawmakers to support the policies of their political party
Speaker of the House (3)
- can decide which members go first
- appoints the members of some committees
- schedules bills for action
- refers bills to the proper House committee
Majority Leader in the House (3)
- help plan the party’s legislative program
- steer important bills through the House
- make sure the chairpersons of many committees finish work on bills important to the party
Union Calendar
money issues
Private Calendar
individual people and places
Consent Calendar
gives unanimous consent to debate out of regular order
Discharge Calendar
petitions to discharge a bill from committee
quorum
minimum number of members who must be present to permit a legislative body to take official action
atmosphere of the Senate
all senators have maximum freedom to express their ideas, more flexible and laid back then the House
The Vice President (3)
- leader of the Senate
- tie breaker
- influence Senate through personal contact with senators
Majority Leader in the Senate (3)
- steer the party’s bills through the Senate
- responsible for making certain the majority party members attend important Senate sessions
- organizing their support on key bills
Calendar of General Orders
lists all bills the Senate will consider
Executive Calendar
treaties and nominations
filibuster
stall the legislative process and prevent a vote
cloture
allows each senator to speak only 1 hour on a bill under debate
Purposes of Committees (3)
- allows members of Congress to divide their work among many smaller groups
- committees choose the few bills that are to receive further consideration
- by holding public hearings and investigations, committees help the public learn about key problems and issues facing the nation
Standing Committees (2)
- continue from one house of Congress to the next
- majority leader controls standing committee –> selects a chair person for each from among its party members
Subcommittees
specializes in a subcategory of its standing committee’s responsibility
Select Committees
study one specific issue and report their findings to the Senate or the House
Joint Committees
coordinate the work of the two houses of Congress
Conference Committees
resolve differences between the two versions of the bill
Assignment to the right committees can help strengthen member’s career by…. (3)
- membership on some committees can increase a lawmaker’s changes for reelection
- lawmaker will be able go influence national policy making
- a member to exert influence over other lawmakers because they deal with matters important to everyone in Congress
Role of Committee Chairperson (3)
- decide when their committees will meet, which bills they will consider, and for how long
- hire committee staff members and control the committee budget
- manage floor debates that take place on the bills that come from their committees
Role of Congressional Staff
- help lawmakers handle the growing workload of Congress
- communicate with voters
- help run committee hearings and floor sessions
- draft new bills
- attend committee meetings
Administrative Assistants (4)
- runs the lawmaker’s office
- supervises the lawmaker’s schedule
- gives advice on political matters
- deals with influencing people from the lawmaker’s congressional district or state
Legislative Assistants (3)
- lawmaker is well informed about the many bills with which she or he must deal
- does research, draft bills, studies bills currently in Congress, and writes speeches and articles for the lawmakers
- assist lawmaker in committee meetings and to attend committee meetings when the lawmaker can’t be present
