Congress Flashcards
bicameral
two house legislature to represent the states in the federal government
House of Representatives
- the most “representative” of the people
- 435 members
- 2 year terms
Senate
- more “experienced” group
- 100 members
- 6 year terms
power of the purse
“raising revenue”
- taxing
- budgeting
- appropriating (spending)
name powers of congress
- power of the purse
- regulating commerce (foreign and interstate trade)
- foreign & military affairs
- implied
foreign & military powers
- raise armies
- impose a draft/conscription
- military spending
- declare war
implied powers
elastic clause – those that are not generated, but are “necessary and proper”
name the different powers for the house and the senate
house:
- proposes revenue bills
- impeaches a president
- selects a president when no electoral majority is reached
senate:
- “advice and consent” suggesting or rejecting presidential appointments
- approve foreign treaties
- convict a president
house leaders
- speaker of the house
- majority and minority leaders
- whip
senate leaders
- president of the senate
- senate majority leader
speaker of the house
- leader of the majority party of the house
- organizes meetings, committees, and debate speakers
house majority & minority leaders
- first members recognized in debate
- spokesperson for their party
house whip
deputy leaders (below majority leaders) who manage party discipline
president of the senate
- the vice president of the united states
- breaks tie votes
- president pro tempore (steps in if the VP is unavaliable)
senate majority leader
- chief legislator
- wields more power in the senate that the VP
- sets the calendar
- determines which bills are debated on the floor
types of committees
- standing committees
- joint committees
- select committees
- conference committees
standing committees
- permanent committees focused on a particular area
- chairperson: senior member of the majority party
- ranking member: senior member from the minority party
Ex. - House Judiciary (identifies bad behaviors & punishments)
- Ways & Means (determines tax policy)
joint committees
- unites member from the house and senate for routine management and research
Ex. - library of congress joint committee
select committees
- temporary committees to perform a particular study or investigation
Ex. - Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming
conference committee
- temporary committees to iron out differences in a bill passed by both houses
- done before receiving the president’s signature
unique house rules
- follows “robert’s rules of order”
- members can only speak for one hour
- legislators can only offer germane amendments
- only the presiding officer (speaker) can be addressed
- formal language is used
unique rules in the senate
- anyone who stands to speak must be recognized
- speech must be directed at the presiding officer with no time limits
- can propose nongermane amendments
- have more tools and abilities to stall or speed up a bill during debate (like a hold)
germane amendments
those directly related to the bill
rules committee
determines which issues or billls that the house will vote on and how
committee of the whole
an informal discussion on a bill before the formal vote
filibuster
speaking for so long that the deadline to approve a bill or appointment expires
cloture rule (rule 22)
- a 3/5 supermajority vote can stop debate on a bill (ending a filibuster)
riders
the addition of nongermane amendments to benefit a member’s agenda
omnibus bill
- “christmas tree bill”
- a bill where multiple riders have been added, making the bill look completely different that it origin
pork-belly spending
- a last minute rider added-on by an influential legislator where federal funds only benefit their district
- “bring home the bacon”
assigning to committee
- senate majority leader and house rules committee assign bills to appropriate committees
3 stages
hearings
- research and SIG testimony
markup
- amendments
report out
- gets debated and voted on the floor
pigeonhole
a committee chair can decide not to move a bill forward for debate
voting on bills
- legislators get opinions on their constituents (townhall meetings, opinion polls, mail)
- a simple majority passes the bill
logrolling
trading vote to gain support on a bill
office of management & budget (OMB)
- the president’s budgeting arm
- headed by a director (more like an accountant)
sources of revenue
- individual income taxes
- corporate taxes
- social insurance taxes (social security, medicaid, unemployment)
- tariffs and excise taxes (on imported goods and non-essentials)
- other sources (interest on government investments, estate taxes)
mandatory spending
- payment required by law for certain programs that have eligibility requirements for people in temporary need
- programs include social security, medicare, medicaid, unemployment
how does a deficit occur?
a deficit occurs when the needed amount exceeds the expected revenue
discretionary spending
- pays for everything else not required under mandatory spending
- includes defense, human resources, physical resources, and interest on debt
- more federal spending = more taxpayer money
influences on congress
- partisanship & polarization
- voting models
- redistricting
partisanship
- a lack of political cooperation between opposing parties
voting models
- delegate
- trustee
- politico
delegate voting model
- reflecting the will of their constituents (the people who voted for them)
trustee voting model
- they are entrusted to use their best judgement
politico voting model
- blending of a “delegate” and “trustee” process
redistricting
- re-drawning congressional districts based on shifts in population
- state legislatures draw congressional districts, usually in an attempt to benefit the majority party
gerrymandering
illogical lines drawn to give one party the advantage
- the process for doing this varies by state and can be challenged in the courts
swing districts
- districts where a party does not always have the expectation to win
- “marginal seats”
gerrymandered districts
- create “safe seats” for a party, which means less competition and fewer moderate options
- this has led to more extreme candidates of that party forcing out imcumbents through primary elections
racial gerrymandering
- the intention of drawing legislative districts based on race
divided government
- when the president is from one party and the House and/or Senate is dominated by another
impacts:
- it fuels partisan gridlock, especially with judicial nominations
lame-duck president
- a president who has not won re-election or is ending their second term
