Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Poli Sci > Congress > Flashcards

Congress Flashcards

1
Q

why are there no large buildings in DC?

A

no building can be taller than the capital building.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

HoR

A
  • 435 members
  • 2 year terms
  • no term limits
  • 25 years old
  • 7 year citizen
  • resident of state
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Senate

A
  • 100 members (2 per state)
  • 6 year terms
  • no term limits
  • 30 years old
  • 9 year citizen
  • resident of state they live in
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

how many year terms does congress have?

A

2 years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

113th congress

A

january 3, 2013- january 3, 2015

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

114th congress

A

jan 3, 2015- january 3, 2017

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

session

A

the period of time congress meets during each term

  • each year of a Congressional term counts as 1 session
    • ex: 114th congress is in its 1st session
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

breakdown of 114th congress HoR

A

435 total members
188 democrats
246 republicans
1 vacant seat

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Breakdown of 114th congress Senate

A

100 total
44 democrats
2 independents, both caucusing with democrats
54 republicans

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

114th congressional leadership HoR

A
  • speaker of the house: Paul Ryan(R)
  • Majority leader: Kevin McCarthy(R)
  • Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi(D)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

114th congressional leadership Senate

A
  • President of the Senate: Joe Biden(D)
  • President Pro Tempore: Orrin Hatch(R)
  • Majority Leader: Mitch McConnell(R)
  • Minority Leader: Harry Reid(D)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Floor Leader

A

leads their party in their chamber

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Whip

A

ensures party discipline (makes sure everyone votes in their political parties favor)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

congressional District

A

area in a state that a house member represents

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

apportionment

A

how the 435 members of the house are distributed among the 50 states

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

reapportionment

A

every 10 years (after the census) the 435 seats are redistributed to reflect population shifts throughout the nation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

gerrymandering

A
  • drawing electoral college lines to the advantage of a party or group
  • the political party that is in power in the state will draw the lines of the districts to ensure they have a better chance of winning
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

How could gerrymandering lead to more partisan politics?

A

instead of being a block of a county, the congressional district is split up and

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what are members of congress usually?

A
  • 1/3 lawyers
  • predominantly white males
  • nearly all college graduates (not a requirement)
  • previous political experience
  • mostly wealthy (richest Congress in history)
  • average age is late 50’s
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

legislators

A

make laws

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

representatives of constituents

A

democratic representative of their district or state

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

committee members

A

work on bills that deal with issues under their committee’s field

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

politicians

A

play the political game

24
Q

how to fix gerrymandering / partisan politics and make voting fair’er

A

Fair Vote

  • using a fair representation system, splitting Louisiana into 3 different voting pieces. This would get rid of the winner take all system.
  • Would allow voters to be represented by senators that share their views
25
Q

expressed powers of congress

A

outlined in article 1 section 8 of constitution

-clauses 1-6 deal with money and commerce

26
Q

what are the 5 main powers of congress?

A
  • Coin money> Federal Reserve (Janet Yellen)
  • Lay and Collect Taxes
  • Borrow money (China/ U.S. Bonds (Citizens))
  • Regulate foreign and interstate commerce (This clause allows for most implied powers)
  • Counterfeiting, can control the flow of money (secret service, stop counterfeiting)
27
Q

what are other expressed powers of congress?

A

-War power: declare war, raise and support army, navy, etc
-War powers resolution(1973): president can commit troops abroad only if:
=congress declares war
=congress authorizes military action
=The U.S. or any of its troops have been attacked
- but president must inform congress within 48 hours
- military action must end after 60 days, unless Congress agrees to extended engagement
-Create Copyright and Patent laws
-Establish Post Office
-Acquire, manage, and dispose of federal land
-Set “Standard of Weights and Measures”
- Set Naturalization- process to become a citizen

28
Q

Implied powers

A

Come from the necessary and proper (or Elastic Clause)

- Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18
- McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819-strengthened implied powers
29
Q

The Commerce Clause

A

Article 1 Section 8 Clause 3

  • To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes
  • Gibbons v. Ogden(1824)- Greatly expanded Implied Powers
    • Supreme court broadly defined the word “Commerce”
30
Q

Strict Constructionists

A

supporting a narrow interpretation of the constitution and the expressed powers

31
Q

loose constructionists

A

supporting a broad interpretation of the Constitution and the expressed powers

32
Q

non-legislative powers of congress

A
  • Amendments - can propose amendments
  • Electoral duties- House elects if electoral college fails
  • Impeachment- removing president, judges, or other executive officers
  • advise and consent- cabinet/ judicial appointments AND treaties
  • investigation- inquiring about any issue that falls within the scope of lawmaking
33
Q

powers written into the constitution/ found in

A

expressed, article 1 section 8

34
Q

examples of money and commerce powers

A

right to income tax
lay and collect taxes
coin money
borrow money

35
Q

where do implied powers come from/ says

A

necessary and elastic clause/ just say that they exist, regulating commerce ***

36
Q

how a bill becomes a law (House bill)

A

intro
committee
floor

37
Q

how a bill becomes a law (Senate bill)

A

intro
committee
floor

38
Q

introducing a bill (committees)

A
  • starts with an idea, only congressmen can do this
  • is introduced and assigned a number (HR # or S.#)
  • the bill is the refereed back to a committee and subcommittee
  • about 10,000 bills are introduced to congress each term
39
Q

types of bills

A

public bills
private bills
resolutions

40
Q

public bills

A

apply to the entire nation

41
Q

private bills

A

apply to a specific group

42
Q

resolutions

A

carries power of a law, but temporary; may be renewed

43
Q

standing committees

A

permanent committees that discuss and debate proposed laws

44
Q

committee

A
  • consider bills, hold hearings related to bills, propose, and send bills to subcommittees
  • have 5 options:
    1-recommend the bill favorably
    2-amend and recommend bill
    =riders: additions to bills that are unrelated
    =pork barrel spending: adding unnecessary spending to a bill (limited recently)
    3-send the bill to the floor unfavorably
    4-table the bill; kill it in committee (pigeonhole)
    5-report a committee bill: rewrite the bill
45
Q

after the committee, where do bills go?

A

the floor, for open debate

46
Q

in the senate, what is automatic

A

the passing of a bill if it goes through a committee

47
Q

what does the house over rule?

A

rules the committee-> schedule debate-> can choose to not schedule debate

48
Q

floor

A

-general debate of the bill
=must have a quorum present
-After the bill is debated, then it is voted on
= In the Senate, it can be blocked by a filibuster (only in Senate)
-Once the bill is voted through in one chamber, it then begins the process again in the other

49
Q

quorum

A

majority of members (218 in house)

50
Q

The Filibuster

A

strategy employed in the Senate, whereby a minority can delay a vote on proposed legislation by making long speeches or introducing irrelevant issues

  • goal is to force withdrawal of a bill
  • Strom Thurman had longest filibuster of 244 hours and 18 min
51
Q

Cloture

A

must be invoked to end filibuster
- 60 votes necessary
limiting the debate before it occurs

52
Q

how a bill becomes a law

A 
House:
 -intro -> committee -> Floor
then into the Senate:
-intro -> committee-> Floor
then the conference committee
then back to the president
53
Q

conference committee

A

fixes any major differences between house and Senate versions of a bill

54
Q

final approval

A

bill voted on in both house and Senate, then goes to president

55
Q

the president

A

has 4 options:
-sign
-veto
-let pass (doesn’t act on bill for 10 days)
-pocket veto
Political procces does not occur in a vacuum
- president and staff will have

56
Q

pocket veto

A

(doesn’t act on bill in 10 days and Congress is not in session)

57
Q

overriding a veto

A

if the president votes a bill, congress can over ride the veto with a 2/3 vote in both houses
typically it is known if enogouh members will vote to over ride a bill

Poli Sci (14 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions