Congress

Question 1

Structure of Congress

Answer 1

Bi-cameral like the UK
However, both work simultaneously on legislation in the US which can cause discrepancies in legislation increasing the length of time it takes to complete the legislative process

Question 2

Some states gain seats in the House of Representatives

Answer 2

Following the 2010 census, the Texas House delegation rose from 32 to 36, while New York’s fell from 29 to 27 and Ohio’s fell from 18 to 16. This links to the population to help make the House as representative of the country as possible

Question 3

Poor diversity in the Senate

Answer 3

2011-12 (Obama’s presidency), there was no African-American representative in the Senate.

2017-18, only 3% of the Senate was African-American despite 12% of the population. Only 4% were of Latin descent despite 18% of the population being Latinx.

Question 4

Strong diversity in the Senate

Answer 4

In 1980 there were 0 female Senators, and in 2018 a 1/5 of the Senate was female.

Question 5

Joint powers of both houses

Answer 5

Law making
Overseeing the executive branch (investigation)
Overriding president’s veto
Initiating constitutional amendments
Impeaching and removing public officials
Confirming an appointed vice President if Electoral College deadlock

Question 6

Sole powers of the Senate

Answer 6

Confirming appointments
Ratifying treaties

Question 7

Sole powers of the House

Answer 7

Beginning consideration of bills

Question 8

The Senate is more prestigious than the House

Answer 8

More exclusive as there are less of them

Hold their position for an extra 4 years

Hold a greater responsibility as they are representing a whole state

More likely to chair a committee or subcommittee or hold some other leadership position

Seen as a recruiting pool for presidential and vice presidential candidates

Possess significant exclusive powers

House members frequently seek election to the Senate, but not the other way around- In 2016, 12 House members ran for the Senate seats, in 2017 there were 50 former House members in the Senate by no ex-Senators in the House

Question 9

The Senate is less prestigious than the House

Answer 9

Have equal powers in the passing of legislation

Both must approve constitutional amendments

Both conduct oversight of the executive branch

Both receive equal salaries

Still represent their state despite it being on a smaller level so it is important they make their areas views and feelings heard

Have more regular elections so accountability and public approval is therefore needed- creates a reason for hard work and upholding dignity- constantly scrutinized

Question 10

Standing Committees

Answer 10

Legislation and scrutiny of the executive branch
Begin confirmation of appointments (Senate only)

Question 11

House Rules Committees

Answer 11

Timetabling of legislation in the House of Representatives
2017, it had 13 members- 9 R and 4 D- chaired by Pete Sessions of Texas
To chair is considered one of the most influential posts in Congress

Question 12

Conference Committees

Answer 12

Reconciling differences in legislation (joint)

Question 13

Select Committees

Answer 13

Special investigation committees (both houses or joint)

Question 14

Committee stage

Answer 14

Does 4 things: states the main aims; reviews the amendments made by the committee; estimates the cost of Implementation; and recommends future action to be taken by the full chamber.
Most important stage as far more bills fail here than at any other stage.

Question 15

Timetabling

Answer 15

While there are dozens of committee and sub-committee rooms, there is only one floor in each house.
A legislative traffic jam develops- queuing for their turn on the House and Senate floors
The Senate has a unanimous consent agreement- an agreement between the Senate majority and minority leaders on the order in which bills will be debated on the Senate floor.
The House has the House Rules Committee- allow some bills through but hold others back.
If the Rules Committee fails to give a rule to a popular bill, members may resort to the discharge process which must be signed by an absolute majority of House-218
Once fulfilled, the bill is discharged and automatically goes to the House floor
Successful in 2002 on the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, and in 2015 to force a vote on a bill to re-authorise America’s Export-Import Bank, the official export credit agency of the federal government.

Question 16

Floor debate and vote on passage

Answer 16

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Question 17

Conference Committee

Answer 17

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Question 18

Presidential action of singing it into law

Answer 18

Example- March 2010 signing by Obama of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
A bill-signing ceremony is arranged, usually at the White House, where a number of key House and Senate members who have supported the bill through its passage are present for a photo opportunity with the president.
Opportunity for both credit claiming and political thank-yous.
May decide to sign bills out of political expediency.
Example- March 2002 signed by Bush of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.

Question 19

Presidential action of leaving it on the desk

Answer 19

Will become law without his signature within 10 congressional working days.

Question 20

Presidential action of a regular veto

Answer 20

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Question 21

Presidential action of a pocket veto

Answer 21

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Question 22

Challenges Congress faces

Answer 22

1. A vast number of bills are introduced. This immediately makes the process crowded.
2. The process is complicated- Obama’s healthcare reform legislation in 2010. There had to be 7 separate votes- 4 in the House and 3 in the Senate (15 months)
3. There is a need at some stages for super-majority votes: a ⅗ majority to stop a legislative filibuster in the Senate
4. Power in Congress is decentralized. Much power resides with the standing committees and especially with those who chair them
5. The fact that both houses possess equal power makes the process more difficult. If like the UK Parliament, one house can virtually override the other, legislation is generally more easily completed
6. Between 1981-1987, from June 2001-Dec 2002 and from Jan 2011- Jan 2014, these 2 equal houses were controlled by different parties. In the 80s, the Republicans controlled the Senate, but the Democrats controlled the House. In the 2 more recent examples it has been the other way around.

7.Even if the 2 houses of Congress are controlled by the same party, it may not be the President’s party. They are therefore likely to find it difficult to pass the bills they want

Question 23

5 significant laws since 1990

Answer 23

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Question 24

Hearings in 2016

Answer 24

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Question 25

Not controlled by the president’s party of oversight

Answer 25

Exhibit A
Exhibit B

Question 26

Effectivness of Oversight

Answer 26

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Question 27

Forms of Oversight

Answer 27

Hearings and investigations conducted by standing or special congressional committees
Consulting with or getting reports directly from the president
Giving its advice and consent for certain high-level presidential nominations and for treaties
Impeachment proceedings conducted in the House and tried in the Senate
House and Senate proceedings under the 25th Amendment should the president become disabled or the office of the vice president become vacant
Senators and representatives serving on presidentially appointed commissions
Special studies conducted by congressional committees and support agencies such as the Congressional Budget Office, the General Accountability Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, and the Congressional Research Service

Question 28

Congress is the broken branch

Answer 28

Oversight- same party too little, different party too much- can’t stop everything e.g. going to war, the President is commander in chief

Filibusters in the Senate- waste time, not democratic

Too many bills are introduced making the process congested

Complicated process- lots of voting and bills take a long time to pass

Both houses possess equal power so can reach difficulty passing bills

When houses are controlled b y different parties or both houses are different to the President it is difficult to pass bills

Room for tactics and pushing personal agenda

Lack of bipartisanship and compromise

Confirmation of presidential appointments often degenerates into partisan point scoring

Too many uncompetitive seats pushes parties to ideological extremes

Foreign policy checks on the president often ineffective (declaring war)

Question 29

Congress isn’t the broken branch

Answer 29

Congress passes hundreds of laws each year

Strong on constituency representation and looking after ‘folk back home’

Congress alone does not cause gridlock in government

Polarisation in Congress is merely reflective of a polarised country

Has successfully called presidents and their administration to account

Slowness in Congress is often because of what the Founding Fathers wrote in the Constitution

Question 30

Voting records of Congress

Answer 30

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Question 31

The 6 pressures on congressmen when voting

Answer 31

Political party
Constituents
The administration (the executive)
Pressure groups
Colleagues and Staff
Personal beliefs

Question 32

Functions of the political parties

Answer 32

Recruit candidates
Nominate candidates for election- e.g. via the primary system
Mobilise voters, get out the vote- e.g. raise money, direct mail, email, voter registration drives
Facilitate choice- a shorthand for voters
Parties determine who the speaker is, and the composition of committees, and the leadership of committees, and who the chairs of committees are, and the agenda of the House

Question 33

Where the parties get support from

Answer 33

Democrat support is mainly in the cities
Republican support is spread- all over the country
The centre hasn’t got a lot of democratic support
The purple is a mix of republicans and democrats

Question 34

John Barrow

Answer 34

The only Democrat Congressman in the Deep South (Georgia), elected last time in 2012 for the House of Representatives – lost in 2014.
TV ads appealed to gun-rights favouring Conservatives and African-Americans.
Knows that the voters are pro-guns so in order to appeal he makes it a big part of his campaign

Question 35

Political factions

Answer 35

Blue Dog Coalition
More Conservative side of the Democratic party
Congressional Progressive caucus
More progressive side of the Democratic party