Congress

Question 1

what is the Becameeral legislature/

Answer 1

it means having 2 chambers - the senate and the House of Representatives

Question 2

what is the layout of the Senate

Answer 2

Senate (100 members, 6 year terms, 2 from each state)

Question 3

What is the Layout of the House of representatives

Answer 3

Senate (100 members, 6 year terms, 2 from each state)

Question 4

What is the Election cycle in the US?

Answer 4

• Elections every 2 years.
• The whole House is up for re- election. The Senate has 3 tiers, so only 1/3 of Senators are up every 2 years.
• There are no term limits.

Question 5

What are the powers of Congress?

Answer 5

• Powers given to Congress by the Constitution:
• Legislate. They can also overturn a presidential veto with a 2/3’s majority in each chamber.
• Representation. There must be congressional elections.
• Amend the Constitution. Shared role with the states. There must be a 2/3’s majority in each chamber.
• Declare war.

Question 6

What are the exclusive powers of the House?

Answer 6

• Impeach the President.
• Elect the President if no candidate gets over 50% of Electoral College Votes.
• Begin consideration of all money bills.

Question 7

What are the exclusive powers of the Senate?

Answer 7

• Elect the President if no candidate gets over 50% of Electoral College Votes.
• Begin consideration of all money bills.
• Try an impeachment case.
• Elect the vice president, if no
  candidate has 50%of ECV.
• Ratify treaties.
• Confirm executive appointments.

Question 8

Factors effecting voting behaviour in Congress?

Answer 8

• Public opinion/constituency
• Party/party leaders
• Caucuses (different from caucus elections) * Interest groups and professional lobbyists

a meeting at which local members of a political party register their preference among candidates running for office or select delegates to attend a convention.

Question 9

what are the steps of how a Bill becomes a Law?

Answer 9

• The First Reading
• The Committee stage
• The Second Reading
• The Third Reading and conference Committee
• Presidential action

Question 10

What is the first reading stage?

Answer 10

Symbolic Placement on Clerk of the House’s Desk
No Reading Aloud
No Vote
No Debate
Purely Formality

Question 11

What is the Committee stage?

Answer 11

Most important stage
Extensive bill review
Witnesses and documents may be called
Sub-committees for complex bills
“Marked up” before advancing
Bill marked up if expected to pas

Question 12

What is the Second reading stage?

Answer 12

House Rules Committee schedules bill debate on House floor.
* Filibusters cannot be used in the House as limits are imposed on debates.
* Generally a bill is almost always passed by the House because the Committee will only submit it to the House if they’re sure it will be passed.

Question 13

Third Reading and conference committee

Answer 13

Final debate with amendments
Vote and passage to the other chamber
Conference Committee for differing versions (often avoided)

Question 14

Final stage presidential action

Answer 14

President’s options for a bill:
Sign it into law.
Veto it (can be overridden by 2/3 vote in both chambers, rare).
Use ‘line item’ veto (approve parts, veto parts, e.g., budget).
Leave it (no position or veto risk).
Sneaky move: Bills at end of Congress, if vetoed, wait for new Congress.

Question 15

3 examples of presidential vetos under Obama

Answer 15

• February 24, 2015: Vetoed S. 1, Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act. Override attempt failed in Senate, 62–36 (66 needed).
• February 24, 2015: Vetoed S. 1, Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act. Override attempt failed in Senate, 62–36 (66 needed).

Question 16

What are the 4 features of the legislation process

Answer 16

Bill Initiation: President or Congress leaders propose bills.
Compromise: Bill can start in either chamber, negotiated in committees, Conference Committee if needed.
Weak Party Control: Politicians are independent, not UK-style party control.
Obstacles: Divided government, policy committees, funding issues, 2/3 majority to override veto

Question 17

What are the Strengths of the legislative process?

Answer 17

• checks and balances create pluralist system, power is shared
• detailed consideration of. bills creates good policy
• states’ rights and interest are protected by the senate being able to filibuster or amend a bill

Question 18

What are some weaknesses of the legislative process?

Answer 18

• inefficiency - low output
• high levels of partisanship
• quality of legislation affected by too much compromise

Question 19

failed bills

Answer 19

• DREAM Act - to protect certain immigrants and give them the right to wrk and education
• gun regulation

Question 20

succesful legislation

Answer 20

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009

Question 21

Factors limiting the impact of congress

Answer 21

• the president
• partisanship
• congress is alternately divided
• The Supreme Court

Question 22

What powers of oversight does congress have over the executive branch?

Answer 22

• vote on presidential proposals
• determine funding on presidential projects
• overturn presidential veto
• declare war
• ratification of presidential appointments

– impeachment. of President and VP

Question 23

What is committee oversight

Answer 23

Committees are crucial for oversight.
They focus on policies, oversee departments, and hold hearings for executives.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee supervises the executive branch.

Temporary committees, like the 2014 House Select Committee on Benghazi, conduct investigations.

The previous Republican-dominated Congress faced criticism for inadequate oversight of President Trump.

Question 24

What are congress’ limits on the Supreme Court?

Answer 24

Congress can amend the Constitution to reverse a court ruling, but this is infrequent.

The Senate holds hearings and votes on presidential Supreme Court nominees.

Supreme Court justices can be impeached by Congress, but it’s rare. Example: Samuel Chase in 1804.

Congress can decide the total number of Supreme Court justices, but this power is seldom exercised. (Roosevelt administration briefly considered it.)

Question 25

Why has partisanship and polarisation increased?

Answer 25

Since the 1980s, polarization has increased due to several factors:
Culture wars pushing Republicans to the right and Democrats to the left.

Civil Rights and the South’s shift away from the Democratic party.

Events like Bill Clinton’s personal life, George W. Bush’s presidency, the Obama administration, and the Trump presidency.

Despite this, there have been instances of bipartisanship, such as immigration reform (2012), filibuster removal for judicial appointments, and overturning Obama’s veto on suing the Saudi government (9/11 victims’ families).

Question 27

what are the checks on the President?

Answer 27

• in divided governments the president’s power is substantially reduced - Obama 2011-2016
• when there is unified government the president’s power is substantially increased,

As there is no ‘whipping system like there is in the UK’ - politicians vote as they choose so party unity is encouraged

Question 28

How does the party increase power of Congress?

Answer 28

• polarisation and increased party unity has lead to prominent party leaders such as Mitch McDonnell having greater power and influence

Question 29

What does an ‘imperial presidency’ mean?

Answer 29

• first coined by Arthur Schlesinger in his book of the same name
• The argument is that after the attack on Feral Harbour, Presidents have broken away from Congress in terms of foreign policy (military)
• Bay of Pigs 1961
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution 1964

imperial presidency also spills over into domestic policy - Nixon Watergate scandal. - however limited by congress

Question 30

How congress reasserted itself over the President?

Answer 30

• Case Act 1972 - forces presidents to inform Congress on agreements made with foreign states
• The War Powers Act 1973 grants congress special statutory authorisation
• tied hands of both Ford and Carter in the Vietnam war and the invasion of Afghanistan

Question 31

Models of representation in congress

Answer 31

• delegate model - elected by the people and most do their absolute best to listen and respond to their wishes
• Trustee model - elected by the people but must use their own expertise to make judgments for the people

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Question 32

How Congress IS representative

Answer 32

• separate elections for President and Congress allows for Split ticket voting
• Two elected chambers - allows for the often different approaches by both the House and Senate
• Frequent elections (every 2 years) - allows for frequent choice, more democratic, and members listen to the people to be re-elected.

Question 33

Arguments against the House being representative?

Answer 33

• FPTP, gerrymandering, impact of majority minority districts
• social representation - race, sex etc
• influence of Pressure Groups - “The best congress money can buy” - Ted Kennedy

Question 34

What are Majority minority districts

Answer 34

• African American representation got a significant boost in the House when federal courts ruled that special district boundaries be drawn with black majority
  yes
• known as ‘gerrymandering’
• The most famous majority minority is North Carolina

Question 35

what are the criticisms of ‘gerrymandering’

Answer 35

• undemocratic and can manipulate voting outcomes
• Shelby county V Hol holds up gerrymanderingder