congress

Question 1

how many representatives are there

Answer 1

435

Question 2

how are congressional boundaries drawn

Answer 2

by state legislatures which are controlled by parties leading to gerrymandering. ie north carolina 12th district

Question 3

which chamber is stronger

Answer 3

they have the equal strength and unique powers shown by equal salaries

Question 4

how has the quality of representation changed over time

Answer 4

its decreased because population growth means members of the house represent over 760,000 people

Question 5

leaders in congress

Answer 5

the house - speaker (johnson), majority and minority whips and leaders.
senate- VP, president pro tempore, majority and minority leaders

Question 6

criteria to be in congress

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

2022 congress results

Answer 7

senate 48 dems (2 independants) vs 49 republicans - dem majority
house 213 dems 221 Rs

Question 8

effect of midterms on pres

Answer 8

often causes divided gov which damages legislative agenda SOP biden 2022+ and merrick garland case

Question 9

whats a lame duck president

Answer 9

a president after midterms of final term, usually cant fulfill legislative agenda due to divided gov

Question 10

Exclusive powers of congress

Answer 10

Power of the purse, bringing impeachment charges

Question 11

Exclusive powers of the senate

Answer 11

Ratifying treaties , confirming appointments , trying cases of impeachment , choosing the VP if the electoral college was deadlocked.

Question 12

Concurrent powers.

Answer 12

Creating legislation, oversight of exec, overriding a veto, initiating amendments, declaring war, confirming an appointment VP

Question 13

Functions of congress

Answer 13

Representation, legislation, oversight

Question 14

Standards of representation

Answer 14

Descriptive representation, members must stand for constituents not just special interests
Chambers must have a variety of veiws
Electoral systems of choosing congresspeople

Question 15

Percentage of women in congress vs USA

Answer 15

28% in congress vs 50% in USA

Question 16

Percentage of black Americans in congress vs USA

Answer 16

12%in both

Question 17

Percentage of congresspeople with degree or above vs USA

Answer 17

94% congress vs 37% in USA

Question 18

Factors that affect in incumbency

Answer 18

Constituency services/ name recognition (franking privilege)
Pork barrel politics
Fundraising advantages

Question 19

Examples of pork barrel politics

Answer 19

March 2022 Texas secured 280mil from a 1.5 tril spending bill

Question 20

Examples of negative pork barrel politics

Answer 20

Big dig highway Boston cost more than 10billion than expected and ran over by te years
Alaskas bridge to nowhere 223 mil

Question 21

What was the amount an average senate incumbent raised compared to challenger 2021-22

Answer 21

25,000,000 compared to 2,000,000

Question 22

How has gerrymandering in 2022 affected district

Answer 22

Competitive seats decreased by 6 and gop will likely gain 3-4 seats

Question 23

How do parties affect congress voting behaviour

Answer 23

Partisanship / polarisation
Weaker whipping system (can’t be deselected because of primaries or be promoted because of separation)
Parties are broad

Question 24

Examples of congresspeople who don’t vote with their party

Answer 24

Joe manchin (d) voting with republicans
Lisa murkowski Alaska voting with democrats

Question 25

Function of congressional caucusses

Answer 25

Educational agenda setting and encouraging support

Question 26

Examples of caucuses having an impact on congress

Answer 26

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

Question 27

The impact of the administration on congress voting behaviour.

Answer 27

2010 Nancy pelosi (speaker) played a key role getting concessions for blue do coalition to pass ACA

Question 28

Examples of representatives voting on their constituents interests

Answer 28

12 republicans voted against tax cuts and jobs act 2017 that would cause their constituents taxes to rise

Question 29

Examples of incumbent losing primaries

Answer 29

Dem Joseph Crawley losing to AOC

Question 30

Example of a PAC

Answer 30

NRA victory fund PAC

Question 31

How much did lobbying firms spend in 2021

Answer 31

$3.73 billion lobbying congress

Question 32

Average age in the house and senates

Answer 32

54 house 64 senate

Question 33

Peices of legislation introduced in 117th congress vs passed

Answer 33

17,600 vs 200

Question 34

Examples of conflict between HoR and senate

Answer 34

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

Question 35

example of filibuster

Answer 35

Ted Cruz 2013 21 hours in opposition to ACA

Question 36

Votes needed for a cloture motion

Answer 36

60 votes

Question 37

example of congress overriding a veto

Answer 37

2021 trumps veto of National Defence authorisation act

Question 38

example of congressional investigation

Answer 38

jan 6th

Question 39

senate majority and minority leaders

Answer 39

majority leader = chuck schumer minority leader = mitch mcconnell

Question 40

incumbency rate in congress

Answer 40

94% in the house 85% in the senate

Question 41

example of veto being overriden by congress

Answer 41

trumps national defense authorisation act 2021

Question 43

Example Congresspeople voting for their constituents

Answer 43

12 republicans voting against tax cuts and jobs act 2017 that would negatively impact their constituency

Question 44

% of congress that has a degree

Answer 44

94%

Question 45

most lobbied bill in 2023

Answer 45

build back better plan had 1800 clients lobbying it

Question 46

what is the hastert rule

Answer 46

where the speaker of the house tries to pleas the majority of majority which leads to the suppression of the minority party

Question 47

how have congressional oversight decreased

Answer 47

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

Question 48

examples of birpartisan acts

Answer 48

jobs act 2012 (relax regulations on small companies), 21st century cares act accelerate research.

Question 49

what was the coronavirus cares act 2020

Answer 49

$2.2 tril stimulus deal for the economic impact of covid. recieved bipartisan support (419 - 6 in the house)

Question 50

evidence congress is much more effective on oversight of domestic policy

Answer 50

2019 dems passed a resolution against trumps border wall obama defeated when parts of his party voted with republicans over trade adjustment

Question 51

example of the elction cycle improving congresses ability to conduct oversight

Answer 51

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

Question 52

how did bushes popularity after 9/11 help him

Answer 52

allowed him to pass the patriot act without it going through the committee stage

Question 53

which president has had the lowest approval ratings

Answer 53

trump average of 41%

Question 54

when congress has had low approval ratings

Answer 54

during the pandemic congress approval ratings were 18%