Congress Flashcards
Define Congress
The legislative Branch of the federal governement, consisting of the house of respresentatives and the senate
Define Bicameralism
A legislature with 2 chambers, The House of Representatives and The Senate
Define Fillibuster
A tactic in the Senate where a senator speaks at a length to delay or block legislative action
Political stalling
Define Cloture
A senate procedure to end a fillibuster, requiring 60 votes
Define ‘pork-barelling’
where a representative proposes an amendment to legislation that will benefit a certain group in their constituency
how often are senators re-elected
every 6 years with 1/3 every 2 years
how often are the house of representatives re-elected
every 2 years - making them more responsive to public opinion than senators
when do midterms take place
inbetween presidential elections
CASE STUDY
Give an example of how the president normally looses seats in the mid-terms
In 2018 midterms The Democrats gained control of the house by winning 40 republican seats
what is an incumbent
a member of congress looking to be re-elected
CASE STUDY
Give an example of incumbents having a financial advantage over challengers
In the 2022 senate election on average the incumbents raised $29 million and the challengers raised $2million.
CASE STUDY
Give an example of how the incumbents are very hard to defeat
In 2022 senate election all 28 incumbents won
first time since 1914
Give an example of how incumbents vote to support their constiuency
In Trumps 2nd impeachment in 2022 only 7/50 republican senators voted to convict due to large trump supporters in their state’s/districts
Give an example of sucessful pork barelling
Republican senator Ted Stevens secured legislation for ‘a bridge to nowhere’ to an alaskan island that only housed 50 people but cost $223 million.
factors affecting voting behavior in congress - PARTIES
give 2 examples of the increase in party line voting
- No republican voted for Bidens inflation reduction act 2022 whereas 1 democrat voted against
- No Democrat voted for Trumps tax cut and jobs act 2017 whereas 13 republicans voted against
factors affecting voting behavior in congress - CAUCUSES
Give an example of A caucus that spreads across political parties
The congressional black caucus - significantly supported justice and police act in 2021 following george floyd’s murder
factors affecting voting behavior in congress - CAUCUSES
Give an example of A republican caucus
The house freedom caucus - most far right caucus, very supportive of trump and chaired by scott perry
Also played a key role in the removal of republican house speaker kevin mcarthy
factors affecting voting behavior in congress - CAUCUSES
Give an example of a democrat caucus
The congressional progressive caucus - extremely left wing and members include berney sanders
Attempt to pass legislation such as Medicare for all and green new deal but have been unsucessful
factors affecting voting behavior in congress - LOBBYISTS
how many lobbyists are estimated in washington
12,000
factors affecting voting behavior in congress - LOBBYISTS
What is the most important way pressure groups and lobbyists can influence congress
By donating to campaigns - through Politican Action Commitees (PAC’s)
factors affecting voting behavior in congress - PRESSURE GROUPS
Give an example of how interest groups can mobalise public opinion over certain topics
The NRA sucessfully prevented Obama passing legislation that would limit guns dispite clear support of this bill
factors affecting voting behavior in congress - CONSTITUENCY
Give an example of a representative voting against their party line due to hvaing a marginal seat and a constituency with lots of support for the other party
Democrat Joe Machin often votes with republican as he is the west virginian senator who have voted for trump in 2016 and 2020 - this resulted in him being re-elected as senator in 2018
factors affecting voting behavior in congress - CONSTITUENCY
Give an example of democrat Joe Machin voting republican
Joe Machin was the key vote to confirm republican supreme court justice BRETT KAVANAUGH 2018
factors affecting vo ting behavior in congress - CONSTITUENCY
Give an example of congresspeople voting along party lines dispite opposing it themselves
only 10 republicans supported Trumps second impeachment in 2022 dispite many opposing trump when he was nominated as a republican nominee in 2016
Does Congress preform it’s representaive role effectively?
Give an example of congress effectively representing through congressional elections
HOR being represented every 2 years and senate every 6 complement each other well
HOR - delegate model, represent short term changes and public opinipn
SENATE - trustee model, sheltered from public opinion so can uphold key principles of the us constitution that they think fit.
Does Congress preform it’s representaive role effectively?
Give an example of Congressional elections not being representative
(2 points)
- sucess rates of incumbents show they have little impact as nothing changes
- house is elected too frequently so representatives are too focused on fundraising and not on representing
Does Congress preform it’s representaive role effectively?
Give an example of how congress is descriptively representative
Representation in congress has improved
E.G
118th has 137 non-white members
113th had 86
10 year difference between the two
Does Congress preform it’s representaive role effectively?
Give an example of how Congress is not descriptively representative
1/4 of congress in non-white compared to 41% of the population of the USA
Therefore congress does not pass legislation that does not pass legislation that is important to this 1/4 e.g police reform act 2021
Does Congress preform it’s representaive role effectively?
Give an example of how Congress represents interests well
(2 points)
- Representatives spent a lot of time in there state / district and host town hall meeting to hear public opinion
- Join relevent committes that are important to the economy of their constituency
E.G House Agriculture commitee is chaired by pennsylvania’s Glenn thomspon bc pensylavnia has 5800 farms at the timeof his election (2017)
Does Congress preform it’s representaive role effectively?
Give an example of how Congress does not represent interests
(2 points and 2 examples)
- Congresspeople are too focused on local interest than national interest - E.G pork barrelling legislation rather than passing national budgets
- Representatives are too focused on fundraising rather than representing - E.G in an election year representatives spend 50% of their time fundraising and 50% representing their constituency
The legislative process in congress
name all 6 stages of the legislative process in congress
- first reading
- comitte stage
- timetabling stage
- debate on the floor and vote
- reconcilliation of bill
- president signs/vetoes
The legislative process in congress
Give an example of the first reading of a bill in congress
The CHIPS and science act was first introduced under a different name - The Supreme Court Security Funding Act, introduced by Tim Ryan in 2021
The legislative process in congress
How many standing committees are there in the senate and the house?
16 in the senate and 20 in the house
The legislative process in congress
Give an example of a bill being passed through the commitee stage
The Supreme Court Security Funding Act was passed through the house by the House Appropriations commitee
The legislative process in congress
How is the timetabling of a bill being debated decided in the senate?
Decided between majority and minority leaders in the senate
The legislative process in congress
How is the timetabling of a bill being debated decided in the house?
By the House Rules Committee
HRC can also decide on how much a bill can be ammended so it is very important
The legislative process in congress
At what stage of passing legislation can a fillibuster be imposed in the senate?
During the third reading - when the bill is being debated and voted for on the floor of the senate
The legislative process in congress
Give an example of a bill being passed after the third reading by the house and the senate seperately
(2 points)
- House passed Supreme Court Funding Act
- Senate passed it with significant amendment like its name - CHIPS and Science Act
july 27th
The legislative process in congress
What are the two solutions to reconsilliate a bill that has been amended differently throughout the two chambers
- Conference commitee decide on one version of the bill (has both members of the senate and the house in it)
- informal negotiations take place between party leaders or there is an exchange of amendments between 2 chambers
The legislative process in congress
Give an example of a bill being reconcilled after debated and voted for
The house accepted the CHIPS and Science Act amendment a day after the senate had passed it
The legislative process in congress
If the president veto’s a bill, what are Congress’s two options?
- amend the bill and present the president with a new version hoping he will pass the new one
- Overide presedential veto with a 2/3 majority in both houses.
The legislative process in congress
What is a pocket veto
The president can leave a bill on his desk without signing it and if it is not signed after 10 congressional days then it will become law
The legislative process in congress
Give an example of the president signing legislation
On August 9th 2022 Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act
Key Differences in the House and the Senate
where are bills more likely to be amended?
in the senate
Key Differences in the House and the Senate
How do the Senate and the House differ in how long a representative can speak in a chamber
- In the House, representatives are limited to 40 minute speeches
- Senate can fillibuster to block a bill
Key Differences in the House and the Senate
Give an example of the Longest Fillibuster
In 1957 Civil Rights Act, Stom Thurmond spoke for 24 hours 18 minutes.
Key Differences in the House and the Senate
How can a fillibuster be ended?
Through Cloture motion requiring 60 votes in the senate which is very hard to achieve
Key Differences in the House and the Senate
If there is a tie in a vote in the house what happenes?
The Bill does not get passed
Key Differences in the House and the Senate
If there is a tie in the senate vote what happenes?
The vice president can vote to break a tie
Committees in congress
Give two reasons why committees are so important
- They can effectively veto legislation
- Allow members of congress to use specialized knowledge to represent important areas of interest in their district/state
Strenths of the Legislative Process
Give 4 strengths of the legislative process
- Bipartisan in times of crisis
- Multiple veto points in process ensure scrutiny
- Commitees ensure expertise and specialization
- president veto is a balancing tool
Strenths of the Legislative Process
Give an example of Bipartisan in times of crisis
The CARES Act being passed in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Strenths of the Legislative Process
Give an example of two specialist committees that are a strength of the legislative process
- House Appropriations Committee
- Senate foreign relations committee
Weaknesses of the Legislative Process
Give 3 weaknesses of the legislative process
- High rate of legislative failures
- Fillibuster is a tool for minority obstruction
- Influence of lobbyists and pressure groups
Weaknesses of the Legislative Process
Give an example of the high rate of legislative failure
In the 117th Congress, 2% of bills were passed
many not being critical issues like renaming post offices
Weaknesses of the Legislative Process
Give an example of a successful fillibuster from a minority to obstruct a bill
Fillibuster of the DREAMS Act 2010
