Congress Flashcards
New Jersey plan
Representation is equal from states in one chamber
Virginia Plan
representation base on population of state
Connecticut compromise
bi-cameral legislature
2 houses
how many seats are there in the HOR
435
House majority powers
house majority controls the agenda and decides what bills go to the floor
senate buisness
unanimous consent on timetable
unlimited debate
senators are more powerfull
congressional committees
standing committees- permanent studios with legislative oversight and scrutiny power
select committees- temporary committee investigate specific issues
join committee- a committee drawn from both houses
Conference committee- temporary committees failed to reconise differences in versions of bills
congressional member organisation
International groups with a shared legislative goal
caucus’s
regional groups
‘western caucus’
demographic caucus
‘black caucus’
issues group
‘disability caucus’
concurrent powers def
powers belonging to both houses
concurrent powers example
make laws
power of the purse
oversight
overturn VETO
propose constitional amendment
declare war
confirm UP
set rules
ways congress is different to parliament
-congress takes lead with legislaition and sets the agenda
- power is more dispersed
- members are more independent
- house and senate could be at political odds
- does have only some areas where it can make laws
VETO statistics
of all of trumps 10 vetos in 2016-20 only one was overturned and 0 of 12 of Biden were
Exclusive powers def
powers which only one house has
Exclusive powers of house of representatives
initiate revenue bill
bringing charge of impeachment
elect president in a split election
senates exclusive powers
ratify treaties
advise and confirm presidential appointments
conduct impeachment
elect vice president in hung election
Impeachment
formally charge a government official with misconduct
contingent election
an election to select president when a candidate wins no majority
How has party unification led to 2 clearly distinct parties
over time the democrats have become socially and economically more liberal
the republicans have become more conservative
how has polarisation also been seen in the electorate
sharp decline in split ticket voting
party has become stronger than candidate
what has the impact of polarisation been
more challenges to pass legislation
budget negotiations have become more contentious leading to govt shutdown
clearer ideological divisions diminish many centrist voices
oversight has become more partisan
populisum
promise to stand up for the people affected by inequality and exploitation
What is the impact of populism
-populists are more legislation problematic
- reluctant to be unpartisan
- sideline moderate voters
- desire to undermine elite
Process of a bill through the US system
bill introduced to committees
committees review
floor debate and vote
conference committee
president signs
Bill submission into congress
house- placed into ‘the hopper’
senate- submitted to clerk
member who introduced sponsor
can the bills be sequential or concurrent
The bills can work through one house and then then next or work through at the same time
how many bills were introduced 2021-22 and how many became laws
17,786
361 became law
committee review
chair decides which bills to discuss
bill could be assigned to a subcommittee
committee reviews and amends bill
committee votes on wether to recommend bill
Suspension of the rules procedure
in HOR
when, for less contreversial bills such as the naming of buildings debate limited to 40 minutes
no amendments are allowed
bills need 2/3 majority
3 types of rules for amendments in the HOR
open rules- any member can propose any related amendment
structured rules- allow amendments by house rules committee
closed rules- no amendments
no bill had open rules in 117th congress
house rules committee
traffic cop of the house
controls timetable and flow of bills onto house
Unanimous consent agreement
senators consent to specific terms for debate
Rules on amendments in each hosue
house- amendments must be closely related
senate- no such requirement
what is the alternative of the conference committee
ping pong from one house to another
2 main critisums of congress
1- gridlocked
2- polarisation
how has congress become gridlocked
-used to pass over 800 bits bit now passes far less
- several policy areas remain unaddressed such as healthcare, entitlements and gun control
Arguments against gridlock of congress
- bills have become longer such as the inflation reduction act
filibuster
60 votes to stop the filibuster
this has now become the level of votes needed for a bill to pass
anti polarisation
many significant laws are still passed
could impose bill by including more and winder support to reach all of country
polarisation of both houses
significant opposition against healthcare reform
increased partisanship
inter party divisions
delegation of powers- clean air act
have party leaders gained too much power
omnibus bill
made by part leaders
party leaders prepare and work to ensure it gets passed.
omnibus bill
An omnibus bill is a large bill that is generally made up of numerous smaller bills on the same broad topic. For example, an omnibus tax bill may cover various changes in several areas of tax law including income, corporate, and sales taxes.
Diminished committees
conference committees- have decreased and now regular order in favour of a leadership driven process is undertaken
no conference committees have taken places in 2021-22
How do senate majority fill the amendments
because they speak first, under ‘structured rules’ this leads to a certain amount of amendments being filled and they can submit al of the amendments
this does lead to more focused debate as there is limited time.
Narrow majority leads to more balanced competing interests
power of the purse
The power to determine how much money each department should spend and cost
mandatory spending
3.8 trillion. this is 61% in 2023 fiscal year.
this then funds automatic spend like medicare and medicaid
discretionary spending
dept and agencies which music have funds appropriated by congress each year
discretionary programs range from national defence and research
How is discretionary spending allocated
the 12 subcommittees of the apporpriations committee
(military)
draft a bill each year and includes the discretionary spending for that department
defence committee puts a bill on defence spending
Share of discretionary spending which defence has
46.7%
Interest spending
10.7% in 2023
interest govt pays on loans
3 types of spending
- interest spending (like 10%)
- discretionary spending (like 30% but abour 16% post defence)
- mandatory spending (like 60%)
passing of a budget
house and senate pass resolutions instructing committees to get to work
committees dont draft legislation
omnibus reconciliation bill
20hr limit of debate and simple majority needed to pass
presidential action
evaluation of budget
often includes other legislation within it
often only majority party votes to testify for
1997-2023 only 4 times have all appropriations bills been passed
how much discussion does the budget really get
annual budget debates often centred around the 15% of non discretionary spending
descriptive representation
demographical representing the population
substantive representiaon
focusses on how effectively elected representatives advocate for the interest which exist in America
female balance in congress
70% of wimmen are democrats
118th congress diversity
most racially diverse in history
Religious
while 29% of the US population has an unaffiliated religious sate only 0.2% of congress.
protestants catholics and jews are over represented
affluence of congress
18% of the US households
50% had a net worths of a million dollars
career background
50% of senators have a legal background
80% of representatives had previously held elected office
31% house members were founders or executives of a business
education
majority have a uni degree
may also have a graduate degree
gerrymandering
majority party can draw districts which are likely to give them the greatest electoral outcome
structural barriers to descriptive representation
logistically challenging to achieve descriptive representation in the senate because it only has 100 members
Wyoming has one rep for 600,000 people
gerrymandering- cracking
spreading opposition support over multiple districts so they are always are in a minatory
gerrymandering- packing
putting opposition voters into a particular district to increase wasted votes
primary election challenges
unrepresentative primary voters select a candidate in their best interests
average cost of campaign for house senate
2.1 for house
11.4 for senate
incumbency re-election rates
100% of senators re-elecrted in 2022
80-90% for house
benifits to incoming candidates
name
financial advantage
access to resources
forms of substantive representation
- casework
- securing federal funding
- legislation
- public engagement
qualifications for congress
25 for house
30 for senate
citezen for at leas 7 years and then 9 years for senate
must live in the state they wish to represent
pork barrel spending
‘bringing home the bacon’
spending on wasteful goods to satisfy personal political interests
how do interest groups try to influence congressional candidates
donations
public advising and policy support
lobbying
ranking candidates at primary election
implied powers of congress
ensure laws are implementing as intended
ensure funds are spent correctly
ensure officials act ethically and forfill duties
what do standing committees investigate
wether laws are working as affected
waste prevention
ethics and civil liberties
impeachment investigation
how does the senate scrutinise the excecutive
confirm executive appointments
partisan imapct on scrutiny of executive
often it is the opposite party which is scrutinisation
this could have a reactive media result
