Congress Flashcards
The structure of Congress: House + Senate
House 435 - 2 year term
Senate 100 - 6 year term
What are the 9 powers of Congress
- Legislative powers
- Overriding a presidential veto (JASTA)
- Initiating amendments to the Constitution
- Ratifying treaties (Senate)
- Declaring war (not used since 1941 as modern Ps avoid)
- Congressional oversight (approving federal budgets + committees)
- Confirming presidential appointments (Senate only)
- Impeachment and removal from office (House initiate Senate try)
- Electing the P in the event of a hung electoral college (last was 1824)
3 roles of Congress?
- Passing legislation
- Representing the people
- Overseeing the executive
How many congressional districts does the most populous state (California) with 40 million inhabitants have as of 2020?
53
How are smaller states overrepresented in the Senate?
Before being considered by the whole chamber, a bill is examined by a ….
standing committee
What is the criteria for becoming a member of Congress?
Age: 25 House 30 Senate
Citizenship : House 7 years Senate 9
Residency must be in the US
How can Congress be argued to not reflect the diversity of America?
Women severely underrepresented (28% vs 51% of population)
Same with Hispanics (9% vs 18%)
Only 1 atheist despite 23% of Americans being atheist!
‘Pale, male and stale’
However, what could suggest Congress more diverse than ever?
More women than ever before (currently 28%)
118th the most racially diverse (especially Bidens cabinet with 13 women 13 men and the majority of those women being from EM backgrounds! e.g. US ambassador to the UN African American Linda Thomas-Greenfield)
African Americans are pretty much equally represented (12% vs 13%)
The squad - A Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Omar and Pressley
What is America set to be by 2045?
Minority white
In 2019 what percentage of the US population were immigrants?
14%
In what Congress were 2 Muslim women elected and a record of 4 native Americans?
116th (2019-21)
What party are women better represented in?
Democratic party (105 vs 37 in Reps)
Which party better represents African Americans?
Democrats (58 vs 3)
Who are overrepresented?
Christians (88% vs 71% of population)
Why are such groups underrepresented?
Women and AA are underrepresented in state legislatures which lowers their chance of reaching Congress
Culture and traditions
Senators have to be physically present to vote which is harder for women as they are unable to take maternity leave
In 2018 who became the first senator to have a baby in office and convinced the Senate to change their rules and allow young children in the chamber?
Democrat Tammy Duckworth
Why are Hispanics better represented in the House?
Because of majority-minority districts where a majority of voters are from the same minority ethnic group
Who describes the Senate as the chamber to ‘cool’ legislation?
George Washington
What percentage of Americans disapprove of Congress?
70%
What are the 5 unique features of the legislative process?
Gridlock
Divided government
Unified government
Filibuster
Cloture
What was the longest filibuster in history?
Strom Thurmond 24 hours 18 minutes opposing the civil rights act 1957
Does Congress perform its legislative function effectively ? Yes:
Has passed transformative legislation such as Obamacare, CARES Act
Unified government allows legislation to be passed smoothly (for the most)
Even during times of hyper-partisanship compromise is possible (CARES Act 2020 and First Steps Act 2018 which reformed the CJS - 87-12 in the Senate)
Emergency legislation
Can reject legislation proposed by the executive
Does Congress perform its legislative function effectively? No:
Only 2-3% of bills become law vs 1980s with 6-7%
112th Congress passed 283 bills, making it the least productive congress in history
Gridlock is common especially during divided government
Senators can filibuster bills
Increased use of ‘closed rules’ by House Rules Committee preventing improvements
Presidential vetoes are rarely overturned since a supermajority of 2/3 in each chamber is needed
What are the 4 subtopics within oversight?
Investigating the executive
Confirmation of nominees
Impeachment
Senate ratification of treaties
Is oversight delegated power or implied power?
Implied as it is not specified in the Constitution
Define oversight
The process by which Congress oversees and scrutinises the activities of the federal government- important part of checks and balances
When may presidents face less scrutiny?
During periods of high public approval ratings such as Bush 90% after 9/11
What 2 committees investigate the actions of the executive?
Standing and select - they hold hearings and can compel (subpoena) witnesses
What is a problem with such investigations?
They can be used to smear the political opposition with bad publicity rather than carrying out effective and truthful scrutiny
It is also a vast workload for Congress. What office supports Congress in investigating the audit of the executive?
Government Accountability Office (GAO)
However what has happened to the GAO recently?
It has been reduced in size for example staff in the GAO, Congressional Research Service and Congressional Budget Office were cut by 45% between 1975 and 2015
What has the confirmation process been criticised for?
Its politicisation and controversial approvals such as VP + Senate President Mike Pence casting the deciding vote to confirm Trump’s education secretary Betsy DeVos in 2017 despite her lack of basic knowledge of education and arguing guns in schools would protect children from bears
Usually the Senate does not block nominations and refuse to confirm appointments. The President is encouraged to nominate high-quality individuals.
However, when was a time the Senate refused to confirm an appointment?
2016 Merrick Garland
Congress can impeach and try the president for ‘treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanours’.
What did the Democrats launch in 2018 after gaining control of the House?
A series of investigations into Trump that resulted in his first impeachment
How many Republicans voted to impeach Trump in the Senate during his 1st vs 2nd impeachment?
1st - just 1 Senator (highly partisan vote)
2nd - 7 Senators (57 guilty 43 not guilty)
What happened after Trump’s impeachment?
His approval ratings went up to 49%! Showed impeachment is not always an effective check on the president
Give three international treaties that the Senate has rejected:
Treaty of Versailles (1920)- international isolationism for USA
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (1999) - would have banned the testing of nuclear weapons
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2012)
What have recent presidents used instead?
Executive orders - allowing them to bypass oversight from Congress - Cheeky!
Does congress fulfil its oversight function effectively? Yes:
Strong oversight during divided government
Standing and select committees investigations of the executive provide high-profile scrutiny
Congress is better able to check on an an unpopular or lame duck president
Congress can impeach
Fear of impeachment prompts the p and government officials to act within the law
President must work closely with Congress during negotiations to secure ratification
Senate can refuse to confirm presidential appointments
Does Congress fulfil its oversight function effectively? No:
Members of Congress are generally reluctant to criticise the P if they belong to the same party e.g. during unified government
Congress’ lack of popularity makes it difficult to attack a popular president
Investigations can and often are politicised and partisan e.g. Select Committee on Benghazi
Investigations = time consuming and costly often yielding few results
No president has ever been removed from office - often due to party allegiance as we saw in 2020 and 2021
Senate has refused to ratify reasonable treaties
Confirmation process is highly politicised
Number of employees supporting Congress in oversight (e.g. the GAO) has reduced significantly in the last 50 years
What is the power of the purse?
Only Congress can raise revenue for the federal government - all tax bills must start in the House and the Senate can amend them
What happens when neither the executive nor Congress is prepared to compromise? Give an example.
Government shutdown - Trump 2018-19 35 day shutdown due to him not getting the funding he wanted for his border wall - cost the government $2.3 billion and an estimated $11 billion to the economy
What functions is the government forced to shut down?
Non-essential functions such as benefits applications, environment and food inspections and national park visits
What do they do in order to avoid ‘shut down’?
Temporary ‘continuing resolutions’
How did Trump find a way to bypass Congress’ power of the purse in 2019?
He declared a national emergency so he could use emergency federal funding for his border wall
Does congress use the power of the purse effectively? Yes:
One of the most powerful checks on the executive
Executive may be forced to make concessions to Congress to avoid a shutdown
Government shutdowns are relatively rare (only happening for a few days)
Does Congress use the power of the purse effectively? No:
Shutdowns are unpopular and can be lengthy
Threat hovers over every budget negotiation
Presidents are unable to reduce the size of the federal budget so US debt continues to increase
Pork barrel funding is an unnecessary use of taxpayers’ money
Trump used emergency powers to bypass Congress’ power of the purse - sets a precedent for future presidents
What are the 4 subtopics in party system?
Congressional caucuses
Party leadership
Party discipline
Partisanship
What is a congressional caucus?
A group of congress(wo)men who work together to achieve similar legislative aims
Most members belong to a variety of different caucuses, but all belong to one of the two party caucuses (unless they are an independent and wish to remain separate yet Sanders and King both choose to caucus with the Dems).
What are the 4 main party caucuses?
- House Rep caucus
- Senate Rep caucus
- House Dem caucus
- Senate Dem caucus
Smaller congressional caucuses act as ‘subgroupings’ and their aims are often ideological.
Give 1 Rep caucus and 1 Dem caucus + their aims
Rep House Freedom caucus - in 2021 45 members with a commitment to limited government
Dem Congressional Progressive caucus made up of over 100 progressive Democrats such as Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Pressley and Omar - ending America’s broken for-profit healthcare system, raising minimum wage and eradicating political corruption
Give an example of a bipartisan caucus:
Bipartisan Heroin and Opioid Task force
Climate solutions caucus
Congressional black caucus (but only ever had 4 reps)
Give an example of a time when a small caucus wield much power:
At the start of 2018 Rep House Freedom caucus opposed Trump’s budget which meant the Reps had to depend on the Dems to pass the bill
What to the majority and minority leaders act as and do?
Floor leaders who plan the legislative agenda and coordinate their party for votes and debates - they try to achieve party unity
Who is the speaker elected by?
All members of the House so belongs to the majority party
What does the speaker of the House do?
Presides over debates and keep the House in order. They determine the legislative agenda for the House and choose members of conference and select committees
Where does the Constitution place the speaker second to?
The Vice President
When did speaker Nancy Pelosi, first female speaker, serve between?
2007-2011 and 2019-2023 - resigned in 2023 but she continues to sit in the House
What did she lead the House to do in 2019?
Impeach Trump
Who is the current speaker of the House?
Rep Mike Johnson
SYNOPTIC LINK: While Pelosi and VP Harris have arguably been the most powerful women in US history, the glass ceiling still remains for what roles?
President
Chief justice of the SC
Senate majority leader
Women are also underrepresented
Party discipline has traditionally been weak. Why may this be?
Numerous different factions
P doesn’t sit in the legislature
Separation of powers prevents party leaders from offering government positions to members of congress in exchange for support
But what committee does the Speaker decide who sits on?
The House Rules Committee
What happened in 2018 with Trump’s party and their turning of support?
Many of his critics resigned from Congress and were replaced with supporters
Although party discipline is generally seen as weak, Congress has become more ____ and ____ over the last 2 decades
partisan and polarised
Partisanship.
In the 1980s most congress(wo)men were politically centrist which promoted bipartisanship. But since the 1990s parties have become more polarised.
Give one reason why this may be:
The decreasing amount of competitive electoral districts - 164 in 1997 but just 97 in 2020
What caucus was set up to try and increase bipartisanship?
The Problems Solvers Caucus in 2017 with 50 members from each party - led the way for the First Steps Act 2018 and Bipartisan Infrastructure bill 2021
What are the 4 types of committee?
Standing
Select
House Rules
Conference
Summary of standing committees:
Permanent and each focus on a specific policy area e.g. agriculture of defence
20 House 16 Senate
Much work done within subcommittees
Parties represented in the same proportion as either House or Senate
Responsible for holding hearings during the committee stages of bills AND carry out oversight of the executive (focused on the committee’s policy area)
Senate standing committees have the additional task of considering presidential appointments
Often policy specialists
Senate Judiciary Committee supported Rep Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to not hold hearings for Merrick Garland in 2016
Summary of select committees:
Set up to deal with specific urgent issues - don’t work on legislation more the issue in question
Prevent standing committees from being overloaded
Most are temporary but few are permanent ie Select Committee on Intelligence which investigated Russian interference into the 2016 P elections
High-profile detailed scrutiny in the public’s interest
However investigations can be politicised as we saw with House Select Committee on Benghazi aiming to tarnish Hillary Clinton’s reputation as Secretary of State in 2012
Summary of House rules committee:
Type of standing committee that sets the ‘rules’ for bills (open or closed) and determines how much time they will have on the floor.
Small membership of 13
2:1 ratio
115th Congress 56% bills under closed rules - threat to democracy and disadvantaged the minority party
Chair of the House Rules Committee often received millions in donations as Pete Sessions did between 2013 and 2019 from corporations and PGs - he reportedly used his position to oppose amendments which would have relaxed laws around marijuana in states where it is legal
Conference committee summary:
Temporary set up to consider a specific bill when the senate and the house have passed 2 different versions of the same bill
Have been used less frequently in recent years e.g. 104th congress 67 but just 7 in the 115th congress
Party leaders increasingly prevent bills from reaching this stage because then the shaping of the bill is out of their control - instead they ask one chamber to adopt the other chamber’s version
What are the 5 representative roles of senators and House representatives?
- Communicating with constituents
- Passing legislation
- Committee membership
- Lobbying the executive
- Constituency casework
Communicating with constituents
Visits to states or districts, social media, letters, emails
Passing legislation
May follow the delegate model or trustee model more so than mandate (due to weak party discipline)
Committee membership
Congress(wo)men may sit on committees that allow them to defend their state’s interests
e.g. from 2015 to 2020 the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee was Pat Roberts, senator for the agricultural state of Kansas - Roberts steered a bipartisan farm bill through Congress (the Agriculture Improvements Act 2018) which gave farmers billions of dollars in funding and better access to crop insurance
Lobbying the executive
Lobby the executive for funds or policies that will benefit their constituents
Is controversial because the federal government may allocate funding to states or districts to secure support of members of congress, not because the spending is necessary
This is known as pork barrel funding
Notorious example is the ‘bridge to nowhere’ a pledged $400 million to join a town in Alaska to Gravina Island home to about 50 people and an airport
What legislation was put in place to try and limit pork barrel funding and ‘earmarking’ for particular projects?
2011 Bipartisan Control Act
Who found this did have an impact? However when did pork barrelling start to increase again?
PG Citizens Against Government Waste 2012 to 2017 lower levels although $3.7 billion was still spent - in 2023 the PG released the ‘Congressional Pig Book’ which found a whopping 7,396 earmarks at a cost of $26.1 billion ! This was an increase of 38% from 2022
Rose again between 2017 and 2019 to $15 billion each year
Democrats trying to resurrect pork barrelling
Constituency casework
Members of Congress are often approached by constituents asking for help with problems, particular those involved with a federal agency e.g. problems with benefits applications
Evaluating representation: How many congress(wo)men were incumbents in 2022?
94%
What was so significant about incumbency in the Senate in 2022?
It was the first time since the 17th amendment that ALL incumbents won their re-election bids
What 5 powers do the House and Senate have joint powers over?
- Legislation
- Oversight
- Overriding a presidential veto
- Initiating amendments to the C
- Declaring war
However what only chamber can confirm P appointments, ratify treaties and try impeachments?
The Senate
Congress’ relationship to the executive: What Office is part of EXOP and lobbies members of Congress to vote for the Ps legislation?
Office for Legislative Affairs
Relationship to the Supreme Court: What can the SC do, and what can Congress do to try and counteract this?
Rule Acts unconstitutional (e.g. Obergefell reversing DOMA 1996) - Constitutional amendment but this is INCREDIBLY difficult
Is Congress the broken branch of government? Yes:
Yes:
There is frequent gridlock
Only 2-3% of bills become law
Increased partisanship
Low approval rates
Government shutdowns are unpopular and disruptive
Politicised appointment process
Investigations are more about political point-scoring
Unnecessary pork barrel funding
Trump’s impeachment voted on partisan grounds
Democratically unelected SC Court can declare laws unconstitutional
Uncompetitive districts = polarised and divided Congress
Congress has not declared war since 1941 despite regular military action by the USA
Is Congress the broken branch of government? No:
Major legislation is still passed every year
Bipartisan compromises are possible e.g. First Steps Act
CARES Act showed Congress could respond to national emergency
Incumbency is high
Congressional investigations provided much needed scrutiny and oversight of the executive
Power of the purse allows Congress to hold the executive to account
Congress has impeached and tried 3 presidents
Senate confirmation of SC justices encourages presidents to choose experienced nominees who will stand up to public scrutiny
Polarisation in Congress is a representative of a divided USA
What caucus are most of the African Americans in Congress a part of?
The Congressional Black Caucus - aims to ensure civil rights and that black people aren’t marginalised
