Congress Flashcards
Which article of the constitution outlines the powers of Congress?
Article I Section 1
House of Representatives:
Term length
How they are elected
How many
2 year terms
Direct popular election
435 representatives
Exclusive powers of HofR
Consider all money bills first
Vote articles of impeachment
Choose president if electoral college is deadlocked
The Senate:
Term length
How they’re elected
How many
6 year terms
Originally elected by state legislature but 17th amendment made it direct popular election
Staggered so 1/3 of Senators up for re-election every 2 years
2 senators per state so 100
Exclusive powers of the Senate
Ratify treaties (2/3 majority required)
Confirm executive appointments
Try cases of impeachment (2/3 majority required)
Choose vp if electoral college is deadlocked
Why is there a Senate and a HofR?
A result of the Great Compromise
HofR designed to be responsible for the people and the Senate to guard against excessive democracy
Concurrent powers of senate and HofR
Pass legislation
Override presidents veto
Initiate constitutional amendments
Declare war
What’s the delegate model?
Idea that members have been elected by the people so they should do what the people want
What’s the trustee model?
Idea that you’ve been elected by the people so you should do what you think is right by the people
What is bork barrel legislation?
Attempt by members of congress to direct federal funding back to their districts
‘Bringing home the bacon’
What’s sophomore surge?
90% of representatives and senators are re-elected
What’s the Jackie (and Jill) Robinson effect?
Districts receive 9% more federal funding when women represent them
Women sponsor 16% more bills
In which way do Congress vote to elect new house leaders?
Every 2 years at start of new Congress, parties gather in caucuses to elect new house leaders
How is the speaker of the house elected?
Each party nominates a candidate, vote is cast and one with majority becomes speaker of the house
It’s normally the party with the majority in the house, people stick to party lines when voting
How significant is the speaker of the house?
Second in line to the presidency
Most important role in the House of Representatives
How significant is the majority party leader in HofR?
Second to the speaker
Also elected and keeps the party united
Who else is elected in the HofR?
Minority party leader, same job as majority
Both parties elect whips, ensure party loyalty
Who is the president of the Senate?
The Vice President, rarely sits in this capacity but will cast a deciding vote if there’s a tie
Who is the ‘pro tempore’ leader of the Senate?
It’s an honorary role often given to the Senator in the majority party who has given the longest continuous service
This is where the real power lies
Who else is elected in the Senate
Minority party leader
Party whips
What is the committee system?
Provides another mean of organising congress
Focusses on specialisation and division of labour rather than hierarchy
What are standing committees?
Have a permanent status in congress
Fixed membership
Jurisdiction recognised by other committees
Consider bills appropriate to subject matter
Speaker has some discretion in allocation of bills to a committee
What is the house rules committee?
Decide which order bills come up to the floor of the house for a vote
Important as order can help or hinder particular proposals
What’s the conference committee?
Joint committee of house and senate
Resolves disagreements on bills
Comprised of senior members of standing committees
How many staff members are there across the house and senate?
12,500
What are committee staffers and how many are there?
Permanent employees of federal government
There are 6,000
- How a bill becomes law: Submission
Doesn’t become a bill until officially submitted by senator or house member and submitted to appropriate committee
- How a bill becomes law: Committee stage /deliberation
Won’t be debated until committee has taken time to deliberate
Probably go to sub-committee and any amendments are made, this is a long process
Most bills die at committee stage
3.How a bill becomes law: House rules committee
In Senate once committee has voted on bill it goes straight to the floor for debate
In house the bill goes to the HRC before it sees the floor for debate
Closed or open rule determines the extent of the debate you want a closed rule
- How a bill becomes law: Floor debate
Speaker of the House and majority leader in senate have power of recognition, allows control over who speaks on the floor- party agenda
- How a bill becomes law: Floor debate (filibuster)
In the senate there is no limit on how long a senator can talk for, this can be used to oppose legislation until majority backs down- filibuster
If this happens, other senators need to marshal 60 senators to vote in favour of a cloture
- How a bill becomes law: Conference committee
Bills at the end of the floor stage look very different to how they started so conference committee might be needed to revise the bill
- How a bill becomes law: President sign or veto
Majority required in both houses for final bill to be proposed to the president
President then signs or vetos bill (article 1)
Has 10 days to decide, veto can be overturned if 2/3 of both houses vote
Then it becomes law!
External factors: Constituency
Members of congress are ambitious and want to be re-elected, they care about what their constituents think
Potential electoral challengers can use voting behaviour of incumbent to their advantage if it’s not up to scratch
External factors: Interest groups
Can mobilise voters in congressional districts
Interest groups donate millions to incumbents and challengers during elections, may affect voting behaviour
Internal factors: Party discipline
Party unison in congress used to be much stronger, it declined with development of primary system in elections
Leader can help members secure position on floor if they want, can build useful bond
Members are desperate for floor to promote a bill or themselves, they’re then well behaved so this can happen
What is logrolling?
An attempt to build a coalition of favours among congress members, supporting each other on bills they might not have interest in so the favour can be returned
Is party unity greater in the House or Senate?
Greater in the House as the Senate has fewer rules to enforce party unity
