Congress Flashcards
Evaluate the view that congress is a representative institution (30)
- house of representatives-elected every 2 years. represent districts. pursue policies that the people want. in recent election, 2022 republican representatives Steve Scalise, Tom Emmer. democratic representatives - Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark
recency
A sweeping climate, health and tax bill. The legislation contains new measures to lower prescription drug costs, including a provision that empowers Medicare to negotiate prices with the pharmaceutical industry, a new $2,000 yearly cap on out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions through Medicare
2.africans Americans make up 13.6% of population but only 8.1% of state legislators. hispanic Americans make up nearly 23% of the American population but only 5.1% of state legislators. - The incumbent is the person currently holding office. In 2016, 97% of incumbents in the house of reps won re-election. Only 13/435 seats flipped incumbents build close relationships with local pressure groups and are able to rely on their funding come election time (and on average outspend rivals by 5 to 1)
for the senate it was 93% of incumbency
against
1.senate is elected every 6 years. senate 2022 election concurrently happened with the mid term election some of senate got replaced. Baldwin Tammy - democratic. barrasso John - republican
2.Majority-minority districts - districts where a majority of the constituents are non white - 15 Africans Americans majority districts and 9 Hispanic majority districts were created after the 1990 census
About a quarter of voting members (23%) of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are racial or ethnic minorities, making the 117th Congress the most racially and ethnically diverse in history.
3. it may be what the people want. republicans in house midterm election 2022 got 50.6% seats and 54,507,807 votes. democrats got 47.8% of seats and 51,469,321 votes. not disproportionate. this could be because Incumbents tend to have a record of policies, legislation, and accomplishments that they can highlight.
however, gerrymandering can occur, where they shape the congressional districts to benefit a political party. each state draw up congressional district, with the state legislators having the opportunity to redraw boundaries every 10 years after the census. republicans votes are more dispersed whereas democrats votes are more concentrated. north Carolina is an example of the voter suppression effect of gerrymandering. in the 2020 congressional elections the democrats saw a majority of voters support their candidates and yet the majority of seats won by the republicans
Popularity can be developed during the current term with name recognition and media coverage. When voters head to the polls, obscure candidates often lose out to well-known rivals
evaluate the view that congressional oversight of the president is effective
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Impeachment for example Clinton and Trump twice in 2019 and 2021
Shows that the President is more powerful as both Trump and Clinton were impeached yet remained as President as a supermajority in both the House and the Senate was not achieved
Clinton impeached due to an affair with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky
Trump was impeached in 2019 for coercing the Ukrainian govt for intel on his opponent for the 2020 Presidential election Joe Biden. As well as this, he was impeached in 2021 for ‘incitement of insurrection’
Trump’s impeachment failed as the Senate was dominated by Republicans, and a supermajority was not reached
However, a president like Nixon proved to be dominated by Congress as he was on the verge of impeachment, but resigned
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Presidential vetoes
Formal rejection of bills passed by both houses in Congress
A supermajority is needed by both Houses in Congress to override a Presidential veto, and will be difficult in a united govt
Eg Donald Trump made eight regular vetoes where none were overturned
July 2019, Trump vetoed a series of bipartisan resolutions that aimed to block sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia, as a result to combat Iranian aggression
However, Obama during his last term had a veto overridden by Congress
In 2016, Obama vetoed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which would have allowed families of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to sue to the govt of Saudi Arabia
It was overridden by Congress as it was decided that this legislation was too extreme
Congress proves to be dominant because the Republicans dominated Congress towards the end of Obama’s second term, limiting his power as President, and he was also a ‘lame duck’
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On the other hand, Congress also has a number of important constitutional powers that can restrict the president’s ability to dominate for a policy.
The Constitution provides Congress the power to declare war.
President at times, I recognise this constitutional power and am afraid to congressional authority by putting proposed attacks to a vote.
George Bush in 2003 gained congressional authority to invade Iraq.
Furthermore, legislation such as the war powers act 1975 has allowed Congress to assert control.
The power of the price provides a strong limit on the President’s ability to dominate policy.
This was very evident in 1995 Bosnia, where Clinton was forced to withdraw troops when Congress withdrew funding.
Therefore, the constitutional powers of Congress have the ability to limit an imperial president in the sense of foreign policy.
Evaluation:
This was evident with Obama’s actions in Libya in 2011 as well as strikes in Iraq and Syria in the fight against Islamic state. President George H.W. Bush deployed hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops to the Persian Gulf region before Congress had taken a vote to authorise it.
Furthermore the president’s constitutional role as head of state and chief diplomat allows the president rather than congress to conduct policy relations with other countries.
Obama was able to liaise With China, Iran and Cuba without congressional leaders.
Subsequently, the president, Due to his constitutional role, appears to be the driving Force of a policy.
Congress Was Not Consulted On U.S. Strike That Killed Iranian General.
The U.S. government justified the strike as an act of self-defense, saying that Qassem Soleimani, the leader of an elite Iranian military and intelligence unit, had been plotting attacks on Americans
evaluate the view that interest groups are more important than political parties to members to members of congress
Is congress effective carrying out its roles as outlined in the constitution
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Legislation
Legislation is scrutinised and amended
Legislation is common to pass through under a united government
Eg Trump passed the ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’ 2017
Bill was passed into law under a unified Congress
Eg CARES Act 2020 injected $2.2 trillion into the US economy to prevent economic breakdown due to Covid
The bill required bipartisanship
EVALUATION: Congress has a low output of legislation at 2-3%
Legislation is very hard to pass due to Republicans and Democrats scrutinising amendments, leading to gridlock, and federal govt shutdown
Eg 2018, Democrat House refused to allocate funds for Trump’s wall on the southern border to control immigration
This led to government shutting down for 35 days
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Congressional oversight of the executive
This is done through policy, both domestic and foreign
Congress proves to be dominant and President proves to be imperilled when it comes to domestic policy
For example, Trump tried to repeal Obamacare but this failed
Federal Govt shutdown in 2013 after the Republicans in the HoR tried to defund Obamacare
Shows that even under a unified government, bills could be hard to repeal/pass
EVALUATION:
The US President proves to be imperial when it comes to foreign policy
This is because the US Constitution explicitly states that the President is the Commander-in-Chief
This allows the President to bypass Congress
Eg Biden launching airstrikes on the Houthi rebels
Eg Trump ordering the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani
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Representation
The US population is very diverse, constituting of many ethnic minorities such as African-Americans and Asian-Americans
As a result, Congress should resemble this diversity
Congress has become much more diverse since the 1990s
More women, African-Americans and Asian-Americans entered Congress
Eg Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an African-American as well as a woman
Congress performs its role of representation as Ocasio-Cortez is the representative of a congressional district in New York
New York is very diverse, and Ocasio-Cortez represents the ethnic minorities there
EVALUATION:
America is composed of 50.8% women, which is not reflective in Congress, as only 25% of Congress is composed of women
Congress is dominated by wealthy, white men who are old and 90% of Congress being Christian
Congress is not representing the people due to many people in America not being Christian
Hispanic-Americans and Asian-Americans make up nearly 23% of the population but only 5.1% of state legislators
EVALUATE TYE EXTENT TO WHICH THE SENATE IS MORE POWERFUL THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1.
The Senate is most definitely more powerful than the House of Representatives as it holds very specific powers e.g they said its power to confirm presidential appointments is a significant power that allows send it to check presidential power.
This power is not seen as a formality by the Senate, but appointments are checked through thoroughly e.g. The presidential appointments in Supreme Court are especially important as they can determine the political direction of America for a long time.
As a result those appointed his high levels of scrutiny from the senior judicial committee and sunny.
Of the last 25 nominations between 2017 and 1968, more than a quarter were not nominated, three were rejected by senate like Robert balk in 1987, three withdrew as it was apparent they we are unlikely to be appointed and Merrick Gurland in 2016 was refused a hearing by the Senate judicial committee.
Furthermore the power to give ‘advice and consent’ to treaties in article 2 section 2 is actually important power that the Senate has.
It allows the Senate to potentially prevent presidents from reaching some foreign policy objectives like in 2014 when the Senate rejected Obama’s disability treaty which he pushed for.
On the other hand the House of Representatives yields a great deal of power as it also holds special powers.
‘Purse power’ is one of the most important powers of congress, this Power allows the house to authorise spending, borrowing and raising revenue through taxation.
It also acts as a check on executive power, in 1995 Congress withdrew funding for military involvement in Bosnia.
This forced President Clinton to withdraw troops.
Furthermore some bills can only originate in the House of Representatives which puts the house in a more powerful position.
In addition, send its power to ratify treaties has declined in recent years as president are using executive agreements e.g. after losing both houses, Obama made executive agreements with China regarding climate change and Iran concerning the development of the nuclear program.
Despite this the power of the conforming presidential appointments especially Supreme Court nomination is arguably a more significant power than any of the houses specific powers as it provides the Senate a chance to shape the political landscape for many years to come.
Therefore, the Senate is more powerful than the House of Representatives.
2
The Senate is greater degree of power compared to the House of Representatives is strongly evident by the position of the Senate.
Senators are voted for by the whole state, compare to Congress people who are elected by district.
This provides senators with a larger mandate and arguably more responsibility.
They also serve longer terms of six years compared to the houses to terms.
The longer periods of term and all the Senate to have a long-term effect on politics and arguably shape the political landscape for a longer period.
They act as ‘the coding jauser’ to the house which tends to act with a greater sense of urgency.
Furthermore the senate yeilds. A greater degree of power as they are seen as a neutralising pool for presidential and vice presidential candidates e.g. Obama was it Centre for Chicago and Joe Biden was a long serving centre of almost 30 years experience.
The greater level of power is also argueably recognisable by house members who frequently seek election to the Senate.
In 2017, 50 out of 100 members were previously in the house, however no Congress person has ever been a senator.
Despite this, both houses fufill a representative function.
They both vote on legislation placed on the floor, members of Congress will aim to receive membership of standing committees which are of particular interest to set and constituents and both houses will perform consistency coursework.
Furthermore the equal power of both houses is recognised by the same salary which each member receives.
Arguably if the Senate was More powerful than this would be reflected in the greater pay for senators.
Nevertheless it is undeniable that the Senate command a great deal of prestige compare to the house.
Senators have more name recognition and as it is a recruitment group for presidential and vice presidential candidates it really highlights its great to prestige and power when compared to the house.
3
On the other hand, both houses can be regarded as equally powerful as they both perform very similar functions.
Most of the functions allocated to Congress by the Constitution are exercised concurrently by both houses.
Both houses have equal power in passing legislation which is Congress is key function.
Bills have to pass through both houses at the same time and the bill sent to the president must have been agreed on by both houses.
Both houses conduct oversight of the executive branch and congressional committees present at both houses.
The house and senate are also equally powerful when approving the initiation of constitutional amendments.
On the other hand, despite having equal legislative powers the practice of filibustering gives individual senators considerable power to block bills e.g. nomination of Neil Gursuch fillerbusted.
Despite this, the fact that both houses have coequal equal legislative power is indicative of the Senate and house having equal powers in their functions of Congress.
EVALUATE THE EXTENT TO WHICH CONGRESS CARRIES OUT ITS LEGISLATIVE FUNCTIONS WELL.
The inefficiency of Congress when dealing with legislation is a significant indicator that Congress is weak in carrying out his legislative function.
A vast number of bills are introduced, which makes the process crowded.
The process for a bill to become an act is complicated.
For the passage of affordable health care act, there was four votes in the house and three in the Senate.
Furthermore the excessive need to compromise, limits Congress is ability to act quickly and agree on legislation to address key needs.
This is evident by the failure of Congress and the president to agree on funding for Zuker virus outbreak.
In addition, in a situation of dividing government, legislation will be even more difficult for presidents to pass.
Hiring Obama’s last years, resorted to executive agreements to meet his policy objectives as he found it increasingly difficult to pass legislation through a Republican controlled Congress.
However, the low output of Congress can be viewed as evidence Congress is carrying out its legislative function relatively well as it prevents tyranny through checks and balances.
The process reflects a desire of the founding fathers to prevent tyranny.
Checks and balances forces compromise between different interests.
This encourages pluralism in decision-making.
Laws are often based on a compromise of different interests.
They therefore represent a variety of interests promoting a pluralist democracy.
Notwithstanding, The presence of partisanship has made compromise much harder to achieve and increase the likelihood of gridlock and government shutdown.
The enquiry ended in February 2019 due to Congress his resistance to funding Trump’s wall.
2
The poor quality of legislation produced by Congress is another strong indicator that Congress is weak in carrying out its legislative function.
Too much compromise can be detrimental as a bill might lack coherence due to the many amendments and interest.
In an era of partisanship, open rules are rarely used as ill considered legislation can be rammed through by the house by the majority party.
Furthermore, the declining use of conference committees are a strong cause for concern as there use would lead to better legislation.
Without conference committees, the final version of the bill is often decided by the leadership of the majority party.
This declined the quality of the bill as it is not open to scrutiny by the whole house.
On the other hand, the passage of the bill through Congress can produce good quality legislation.
Quality legislation comes from detailed consideration of bills and fillers to remove undesirable elements.
This can be done through standing committees and limits the danger of a bill being poorly thought through.
Such a deliberate process should lead to higher quality policy by preventing rush decisions.
Despite this the partisanship has had a huge impact on the quality of legislation particularly in the declining use of committees.
3
In recent times, high levels of partisanship has had a large impact on Congress his ability to pass legislation.
The weakness of the process has been emphasised by a rise in partisanship.
High party unity and unwillingness to compromise has increased the difficulty in passing legislation, leading to more gridlock.
In the 113th Congress, unity for democracy in Congress was 92% and 90%.
For republicans, Congress’ legislative function has been further weakened by the increase in the use of filibustering.
The use of the nuclear option in recent years is a testament to the creeping partisanship in the Senate, who are meant to be the stronger and more deliberate house.
The continuation of Neil Gurjush and Brett Kavanaugh by a simple majority, opposed to 60 is evidence that the house may be more ideologically extreme judges appointment.
However, Congress is able to carry out its legislative function well as it protects individuals and states rights.
The legislative process does much to respect that imparitant Traditions of individual and state rights.
Individual states rights are protected, as senators can insert amendments or filibusters on the basis of equal state power and interest.
However, it is undeniable that partisanship has largely we can progress his ability to carry out with legislative function.
