congress Flashcards
intention of congress
to make it the most powerful branch
(article 1)
money
power of the perks
bicameral system
legislative assembly composed of two chambers
senate
states with long terms
house
districts with short terms
qualifications of senate
U.S citizen for 9 years
30 years old
qualifications for house
U.S citizen for 7 years
25 years old
senate
100 members
originally chosen by state legislatures
changed to direct election by the 17th amendment
house
435
ranging from 1-52 per state
elected by districts
NV U.S Senate members
catherine cortez masto (D)
Jacky rosen (D)
NV U.S House members
susie lee (D) district 3
dina titus (D) district 1
Mark Amadei (R) district 2
steven fortsford (D) district 4
NV governer
joe lomdardo (R)
U.S senate term
6 years
NV house term
2 years
congressional districts are relatively
homogenous
ideal for organized interests claiming to represent constituents
members tend to specialize in one committee
states are far more heterogenous
senators have to be generalists
more open to a wider array of interests
how much of nevada is controlled by the federal government
80%
socialogical (descriptive) representative
representative shares characteristics, background and interests with constituents
agency ( substantive) representation
representative has incentives to act in the constituents interests
backgrounds
members of congress
religion: protestant
race and gender: increasing numbers of African Americans, Latinos, and women in the U.S congress but still less than their proportions in populations
representatives as agents
legislators learn about the interests of constituents
parties almost never ask a member of congress to vote against
constituents interests
delegate
a representative who votes according to the preferences. of his or her constituency
house members are most likely to
act as delegates
trustees
vote on how they personally believe will be good
senators are more likely to act as trustees
introduction of direct primaries are the reasons why
candidates self select
3 functions of congress
laws, oversight, representation
90% of incumbents get
re-elected
incumbency advantage
members of congress have an array of tools to keep them in office
constituency services
services to directly help constituents
franking privilege
newsletters, mail, free mailing
franking privilege
newsletters, mail, free mailing
pork barreling (spending for district)
little project to get the name out there
* John murtha airport
*spending a lot of money for the sake of spending and putting your name on it
the vast majority of incumbents in safe seats come from districts where
the majority of voters are from the same party as they are
the critical election in these districts is the
primary
reapportionment
the reallocation of seats in the house of representatives every 10 years
occurs every 10 years because of the census
in 2010 nevada went from 3 to
4 districts
redistricting
re drawing of house district lines
occurs every 10 years
in most states the state legislatures do
redistricting
gerrymandering
using redistricting to your advantage
partisan
to benefit a particular party
cracking
putting different political parties together
packing
taking all constituents from opposing parties into one district
safe seats
seats that are probably safe for the party in power
open seats
seats up for grabs
district one is safe for
democrats in nv
district 2 is safe for
republicans in nv
pitfalls of incumbency
disruptive issues
personal misconduct
turnout violation: the midterm election problem
strong challengers
presidents party tends to lose seats in congress
senate and assembly in nv
bicameral
senate term in nv
4 years
assembly term in nv
2 years
term limits in nv
12 years
nv legislation requirements
21 years, 1 year resident, non-felon
salary
$1160/day for 60 days
sessions
biennial (every other year in odd numbered years), 120 days
speaker of the house is
the leader of the majority party
both parties elect
a majority, minority leader, party whip
who determines which of their members sit on various committees
parties
the vice president officially chairs the senate but
only takes the gavel at ceremonial events and in the case of a tie vote
who chairs the senate not officially
the president pro tempore, but often hands off to another member for routine business
who can call special sessions
governor
who can call itself into special session
legislature
are standing committees permanent
yes
what percentage of bills die
90%
what are select committees
formed temporarily to focus on a specific issue
cannot present bills to chamber
what are conference committees
formed to write the final wording when both chambers pass similar bills that need to be reconciled
the number of seats the minority party has on a committee is roughly proportionate to
the seats it has in the chamber
what determines committee assignments
seniority
what are established staff agencies
legislative support agencies responsible for policy analysis
congressional research service
research arm of congress
congressional budget office
assesses costs of programs and incomes from tax plans
government accountability office
audits federal agencies and programs
how many votes to end filibuster
60
nuclear option
eliminated filibuster for lower federal court judgeships
line item veto
taking out certain parts of a bill
logrolling
if you support me on bill x i will support you on bill y
oversight
congress is expected to oversee the activities of the executive branch in order to ensure funding is spent and laws are enforced properly
sunset law
set expiration dates on laws
what does the senate have to confirm
top level executive appointments , ambassadors, and federal judges
impeachment
house acts as grand jury
the senate conducts the actual trial
constituency
the residents in the area from which an official is elected
descriptive representation
being similar to the constituents
can better represent their views
substantive representation
representative is held accountable if he or she fails to represent that constituency properly
incumbency
holding the political office for which one is running
apportionment
the process, occurring after every decennial census, that allocates congressional seats among the 50 states
conference (gathering)
gathering of house republicans every 2 years to elect their house leaders
caucus ( gathering)
gathering of house democrats every 2 years to elect their house leaders
majority leader
elected leader of the majority party in the house of representatives or in the senate
minority leader
the elected leader of the minority party in the house or senate
whip
a party member in the house or senate responsible for coordinating the party’s legislative strategy, building support for key issues, and counting votes
