congress Flashcards
how many representatives are there
435
how are congressional boundaries drawn
by state legislatures which are controlled by parties leading to gerrymandering. ie north carolina 12th district
which chamber is stronger
they have the equal strength and unique powers shown by equal salaries
how has the quality of representation changed over time
its decreased because population growth means members of the house represent over 760,000 people
leaders in congress
the house - speaker (johnson), majority and minority whips and leaders.
senate- VP, president pro tempore, majority and minority leaders
criteria to be in congress
senate must be 30 + and be a US citizen for 9 years
house must be at least 25 citizen 7 years and live in their district.
2022 congress results
senate 48 dems (2 independants) vs 49 republicans - dem majority
house 213 dems 221 Rs
effect of midterms on pres
often causes divided gov which damages legislative agenda SOP biden 2022+ and merrick garland case
whats a lame duck president
a president after midterms of final term, usually cant fulfill legislative agenda due to divided gov
Exclusive powers of congress
Power of the purse, bringing impeachment charges
Exclusive powers of the senate
Ratifying treaties , confirming appointments , trying cases of impeachment , choosing the VP if the electoral college was deadlocked.
Concurrent powers.
Creating legislation, oversight of exec, overriding a veto, initiating amendments, declaring war, confirming an appointment VP
Functions of congress
Representation, legislation, oversight
Standards of representation
Descriptive representation, members must stand for constituents not just special interests
Chambers must have a variety of veiws
Electoral systems of choosing congresspeople
Percentage of women in congress vs USA
28% in congress vs 50% in USA
Percentage of black Americans in congress vs USA
12%in both
Percentage of congresspeople with degree or above vs USA
94% congress vs 37% in USA
Factors that affect in incumbency
Constituency services/ name recognition (franking privilege)
Pork barrel politics
Fundraising advantages
Examples of pork barrel politics
March 2022 Texas secured 280mil from a 1.5 tril spending bill
Examples of negative pork barrel politics
Big dig highway Boston cost more than 10billion than expected and ran over by te years
Alaskas bridge to nowhere 223 mil
What was the amount an average senate incumbent raised compared to challenger 2021-22
25,000,000 compared to 2,000,000
How has gerrymandering in 2022 affected district
Competitive seats decreased by 6 and gop will likely gain 3-4 seats
How do parties affect congress voting behaviour
Partisanship / polarisation
Weaker whipping system (can’t be deselected because of primaries or be promoted because of separation)
Parties are broad
Examples of congresspeople who don’t vote with their party
Joe manchin (d) voting with republicans
Lisa murkowski Alaska voting with democrats
Function of congressional caucusses
Educational agenda setting and encouraging support
Examples of caucuses having an impact on congress
Congressional steel caucus when trump put a 25%tarrif on steel imports they praised him
Congressional black caucus set up “war room” to defend ketanji brown- Jackson
The impact of the administration on congress voting behaviour.
2010 Nancy pelosi (speaker) played a key role getting concessions for blue do coalition to pass ACA
Examples of representatives voting on their constituents interests
12 republicans voted against tax cuts and jobs act 2017 that would cause their constituents taxes to rise
Examples of incumbent losing primaries
Dem Joseph Crawley losing to AOC
Example of a PAC
NRA victory fund PAC
How much did lobbying firms spend in 2021
$3.73 billion lobbying congress
Average age in the house and senates
54 house 64 senate
Peices of legislation introduced in 117th congress vs passed
17,600 vs 200
Examples of conflict between HoR and senate
2010/14 HoR voted over 50 times to repeal ACA but was defeated by senate
2013 senate passed immigration modernisation act but HOR refused to debate it
example of filibuster
Ted Cruz 2013 21 hours in opposition to ACA
Votes needed for a cloture motion
60 votes
example of congress overriding a veto
2021 trumps veto of National Defence authorisation act
example of congressional investigation
jan 6th
senate majority and minority leaders
majority leader = chuck schumer
minority leader = mitch mcconnell
incumbency rate in congress
94% in the house
85% in the senate
example of veto being overriden by congress
trumps national defense authorisation act 2021
Example Congresspeople voting for their constituents
12 republicans voting against tax cuts and jobs act 2017 that would negatively impact their constituency
% of congress that has a degree
94%
most lobbied bill in 2023
build back better plan had 1800 clients lobbying it
what is the hastert rule
where the speaker of the house tries to pleas the majority of majority which leads to the suppression of the minority party
how have congressional oversight decreased
usually during united government
dems controlled congress 1993-4 there was 137 hearings but in 2003 -4 there was 37 in the GOP controlled congress
examples of birpartisan acts
jobs act 2012 (relax regulations on small companies), 21st century cares act accelerate research.
what was the coronavirus cares act 2020
$2.2 tril stimulus deal for the economic impact of covid. recieved bipartisan support (419 - 6 in the house)
evidence congress is much more effective on oversight of domestic policy
2019 dems passed a resolution against trumps border wall
obama defeated when parts of his party voted with republicans over trade adjustment
example of the elction cycle improving congresses ability to conduct oversight
obamas veto on a law allowing victims of 9/11 family to sue saudi arabia in the us courts, his lack of power was becuase he was a lame duck president
how did bushes popularity after 9/11 help him
allowed him to pass the patriot act without it going through the committee stage
which president has had the lowest approval ratings
trump average of 41%
when congress has had low approval ratings
during the pandemic congress approval ratings were 18%
