Congress Flashcards
why are there no large buildings in DC?
no building can be taller than the capital building.
HoR
- 435 members
- 2 year terms
- no term limits
- 25 years old
- 7 year citizen
- resident of state
Senate
- 100 members (2 per state)
- 6 year terms
- no term limits
- 30 years old
- 9 year citizen
- resident of state they live in
how many year terms does congress have?
2 years
113th congress
january 3, 2013- january 3, 2015
114th congress
jan 3, 2015- january 3, 2017
session
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
breakdown of 114th congress HoR
435 total members
188 democrats
246 republicans
1 vacant seat
Breakdown of 114th congress Senate
100 total
44 democrats
2 independents, both caucusing with democrats
54 republicans
114th congressional leadership HoR
- speaker of the house: Paul Ryan(R)
- Majority leader: Kevin McCarthy(R)
- Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi(D)
114th congressional leadership Senate
- President of the Senate: Joe Biden(D)
- President Pro Tempore: Orrin Hatch(R)
- Majority Leader: Mitch McConnell(R)
- Minority Leader: Harry Reid(D)
Floor Leader
leads their party in their chamber
Whip
ensures party discipline (makes sure everyone votes in their political parties favor)
congressional District
area in a state that a house member represents
apportionment
how the 435 members of the house are distributed among the 50 states
reapportionment
every 10 years (after the census) the 435 seats are redistributed to reflect population shifts throughout the nation
gerrymandering
- 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 could gerrymandering lead to more partisan politics?
instead of being a block of a county, the congressional district is split up and
what are members of congress usually?
- 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
legislators
make laws
representatives of constituents
democratic representative of their district or state
committee members
work on bills that deal with issues under their committee’s field
politicians
play the political game
how to fix gerrymandering / partisan politics and make voting fair’er
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
expressed powers of congress
outlined in article 1 section 8 of constitution
-clauses 1-6 deal with money and commerce
what are the 5 main powers of congress?
- 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)
what are other expressed powers of congress?
-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
Implied powers
Come from the necessary and proper (or Elastic Clause)
- Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18 - McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819-strengthened implied powers
The Commerce Clause
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”
Strict Constructionists
supporting a narrow interpretation of the constitution and the expressed powers
loose constructionists
supporting a broad interpretation of the Constitution and the expressed powers
non-legislative powers of congress
- 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
powers written into the constitution/ found in
expressed, article 1 section 8
examples of money and commerce powers
right to income tax
lay and collect taxes
coin money
borrow money
where do implied powers come from/ says
necessary and elastic clause/ just say that they exist, regulating commerce ***
how a bill becomes a law (House bill)
intro
committee
floor
how a bill becomes a law (Senate bill)
intro
committee
floor
introducing a bill (committees)
- 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
types of bills
public bills
private bills
resolutions
public bills
apply to the entire nation
private bills
apply to a specific group
resolutions
carries power of a law, but temporary; may be renewed
standing committees
permanent committees that discuss and debate proposed laws
committee
- 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
after the committee, where do bills go?
the floor, for open debate
in the senate, what is automatic
the passing of a bill if it goes through a committee
what does the house over rule?
rules the committee-> schedule debate-> can choose to not schedule debate
floor
-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
quorum
majority of members (218 in house)
The Filibuster
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
Cloture
must be invoked to end filibuster
- 60 votes necessary
limiting the debate before it occurs
how a bill becomes a law
House: -intro -> committee -> Floor then into the Senate: -intro -> committee-> Floor then the conference committee then back to the president
conference committee
fixes any major differences between house and Senate versions of a bill
final approval
bill voted on in both house and Senate, then goes to president
the president
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
pocket veto
(doesn’t act on bill in 10 days and Congress is not in session)
overriding a veto
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
