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Politics D > Congress > Flashcards

Congress Flashcards

1
Q

What are the requirements to be a House member? (3)

A

Over 25
US citizen for 7 years
Member of the state you represent, sometimes the district

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2
Q

What are the requirements to be a Senator? (3)

A

Over 30
US citizen for 9 years
Member of the state that you represent

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3
Q

How many House and Senate members are there?

A

435, 100

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4
Q

In the 115th Congress, how many women, Hispanics, and African Americans were there in House?

A

83 women
34 Hispanics
49 African Americans

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5
Q

How many Republicans and Democrats are there in Senate

A

52/48

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6
Q

How many women, Hispanics, African Americans were there in the Senate in the 115th Congress?

A

21 women
4 Hispanics
3 African Americans

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7
Q

Of the 29 Senators that stood for reelection in 2016, how many won?

A

27

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8
Q

What are the 3 exclusive powers of the House?

A
  • Begins consideration of all money bills
  • Can impeach any member of the executive or judiciary by a simple majority
  • Elects the President if the EC is deadlocked
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9
Q

Why does the House begin consideration of all money bills?

A

At the time of the Founding Fathers, the House was the only directly elected chamber

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10
Q

What are the 4 exclusive powers of the Senate?

A
  • Confirm presidential appointments to the executive and judicial branches
  • Ratify all treaties negotiated by the President
  • Hold trials of impeachment from the House
  • Elect the VP if electoral college is deadlocked
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11
Q

Who was impeached in 2010 and why?

A

Judge Thomas Porteous, by 94-2 in Senate

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12
Q

Joint powers of the House and Senate? (5)

A 
Pass legislation
Override the Presidents veto
Initiate Constitutional amendments
Declare war
Confirm a newly appointed VP
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13
Q

When was a VP last confirmed by Congress

A

1974 when Nelson Rockefeller became VP. As a result of the 25th amendment

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14
Q

Who did the Senate block from becoming a Supreme Court Justice in 2016?

A

Merrick Garland

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15
Q

In what ways is the Senate more important than the House? (6)

A

Senators represent the entire state
Senators serve longer terms
There are less Senators than House members
Senates are more frequently likely to be the President
Senates exclusive powers such as confirming appointments are more important than the Houses
Senate members are more likely to be chair of committees

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16
Q

In what ways do the House and Senate have equal powers? (4)

A

Both Houses have equal power in legislation
Both powers must agree to compromises reached at Conference Committees
Both houses are required to override Presidential vetoes and approve constitutional amendments
Members of both houses receive equal salaries

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17
Q

What are the functions of the Speaker of the House? (5)

A

Acts as Presiding officer of the House
Interprets and enforces rules of the House
Refers bills to standing committees
Appoints Committee chairs
Appoints majority party members of the House Rules Committee

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18
Q

Who is the current speaker of the House?

A

Paul Ryan

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19
Q

What do Majority and Minority leaders do?

A

Act as ‘day to day head of operations’ on their respective floors
Hold press briefings to talk about their party’s policy
Act as liaison officer between the two chambers and the White House

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20
Q

Who are the Majority and Minority leaders in House?

A

Maj: Kevin McCarthy
Min: Nancy Pelosi

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21
Q

Who are the Majority and Minority leaders in Senate?

A

Maj: Mitch McConnell
Min: Chuck Schumer

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22
Q

How many Standing Committees are there in the House and the Senate?

A

16 in Senate, 17 in House

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23
Q

How many members are in House and Senate Standing Committees?

A

18 in Senate, 45-50 in House

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24
Q

What is the party makeup in Standing Committees and who chairs them?

A

Proportional to party representation in the whole chamber, chaired by a member of the majority party.

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25
Q

What is the Seniority rule?

A

The chairman of a standing committee will be the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on the committee

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26
Q

What are the functions of Standing Committees? (3)

A
  • Conduct committee stage of the legislation process
    hold hearings with witnesses.
  • Conduct investigations within the Committees policy area. Call executive officials to be interviewed
  • Begin confirmation process of numerous presidential appointments (in Senate only)
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27
Q

What Senate committee is John McCain head of?

A

Armed Forces Committee

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28
Q

Which committee investigated Rex Tillersons suitability as Secretary of State

A

Foreign Relations Committee

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29
Q

What does the House Rules Committee do? (3)

A

Timetables bills for consideration on the House floor
Prioritises the most important bills coming from the Committee stage
Sets out rules for each debate of a bill eg. Can any amendments be made

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30
Q

How many members of each party are there in the House Rules Committee and who is its chair?

A

11 Republicans
4 Democrats
Pete Sessions

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31
Q

Why are Conference Committees necessary?

A

Both chambers have equal power in legislation and bills pass through the chambers concurrently.

32
Q

What are select committees and why are they set up?

A

Special or investigative committees set up to investigate a particular issue
Set up when an issue is out of policy area or if it will take up too much time for the standing committee

33
Q

Give an example of a select committee set up in 2012

A

House Select Committee on Benghazi, set up in 2012 by John Boehner to investigate the Benghazi attack

34
Q

What did the Republicans pass in 1990s relating to Committee chairs, and why?

A

Placed a 6 year term limit on committee and sub committee chairs due to being critical of Democratic Chairs that had existed for such a long time

35
Q

What happened with John Whitten?

A

Chaired the Appropriations Sub Committee of Agriculture for 43 years

36
Q

What are the 7 stages of the Legislative process?

A 
First Reading
Committee Stage
Time tabling
Second Reading
Third Reading
Conference Committee
Presidential Action
37
Q

What does the First Reading consist of in the Senate and House?

A

Placing bill on Clerks desk in Senate

Read title on Senate floor

38
Q

What does pigeon-holing mean?

A

Putting a bill to one side and never considering it again

39
Q

What does a report consist of after the committee stage? (3)

A

Estimated cost of the bill
States the main aims
Recommend action to be taken at the next stage

40
Q

How does the Senate deal with timetabling?

A

Unanimous Consent Agreements

- the majority and minority leaders agree on which bills will be debated in what order

41
Q

How can House members bypass the House Rules committee?

A

Raise a petition signed by an absolute majority.

Used successfully for the 2002 Bispartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act

42
Q

What are the two methods of voting on a bill?

A

Voice vote

Recorded vote

43
Q

How do recorded voted differ in House and Senate?

A

Roll call in Senate

Electronic voting in House

44
Q

How can a filibuster be closed?

A

3/5s of Senators vote to end it

45
Q

How long did Sanders talk for in 2010 and why?

A

8.5 hours, protest against tax reform Obama was seeking to work out with Republicans

46
Q

In the 114th Congress, how many bills were proposed and how many were passed?

A

5400, 329

47
Q

What are the Presidents 4 options with a bill

A

Sign it into law
Leave it
Veto
Pocket veto

48
Q

If a President leaves a bill on his desk, how many days does he need to leave it for in order for it to become legislation?

A

10 Congressional working days

49
Q

How can Congress override a presidential veto?

A

2/3s majority in both houses

50
Q

How many vetoes did Clinton use?

A

36

51
Q

What is a pocket veto, give a Bush example in 2007

A

Leaving the bill on the desk at the end of a Congressional session.
Destroyed the 2007 National Defence Authorisation Bill

52
Q

What are the 6 key factors in voting in Congress?

A 
Political Party
Pressure Groups
Administration
Colleagues and staff
Constituents
Personal Beliefs
53
Q

What is classed as a party vote?

A

One where the majority of one party votes yes and the majority of the other party votes no

54
Q

Example of a party vote

A 
2013 American Taxpayers Relief Bill
Democrats:
172 Yes
16 No
Republicans:
85 Yes
151 No
55
Q

Give an example of a Conservative Democrat who often votes Republican

A

John Barrow of Georgia

56
Q

Give an example of a moderate Republican who often votes Democrat

A

Senator Susan Collins of Maine

57
Q

How can Congress members identify with their Constituents?

A

Resident of the area

Born, raised, educated and worked there

58
Q

Why did Elizabeth Dole lose in 2008 in North Carolina

A

Ineffective in her Constituency, too supportive of Bush

- spent only 13 days in North Carolina in 2008

59
Q

How do Congress members stay in touch with their constituency? (7)

A 
Read the local newspaper
Talk to their office members in the state
Receive emails from their constituents
Return home for holiday seasons
Hold town hall meetings
Visit schools and businesses
Appear on local radio stations
60
Q

Which were the states with the most similar and different senators in 2012

A

Oregon the same
Wisconsin different
- Herb Kohl - liberal democrat
- Ron Johnson - conservative republican

61
Q

Who are the administration?

A

Members of the executive branch

62
Q

How do executive members go about convincing Congress members to vote with them? (3)

A

Regular
Bipartisan
Willing to cooperate ie. Do favours in return

63
Q

How do pressure groups attempt to influence voting in Congress? (5)

A

Make direct contact with Congress members and their staff
Attempt to generate public support in their favour
Provide evidence to relevant committees
Organise rallies, demonstrations, petitions
Money raise to fund politicians who support them and defeat those who don’t

64
Q

Why has there been a decline in bipartisanship (2)

A

Decrease in centrists. No overlap in Senate anymore

Gerrymandering creates more safe seats. Lack of opposition party support in their state means there is no need to be seen being partisan

65
Q

What happened to the 9 centrists up for reelection in the 2010 senate elections

A

4 retired, 2 lost in primaries, 2 lost the election, Robert Byrd of West Virginia died before Election Day

66
Q

Why does Gridlock occur in Congress (6)

A 
Complicated legislative process
Divided Government / Congress
Filibusters
Need for Super Majorities at times
Increased levels of partisanship
2 year terms in the House
67
Q

What is the approval rating in Congress

A

11%

68
Q

Where does most oversight of the executive take place and how?

A

In the standing committees. Policy specialist committees can call senior executive officials to appear before them to answer questions under oath.

69
Q

Is Oversight effective when there is united government?

A

No

  • all modern day senate rejections have come under divided government
  • Congressional oversight is very light in times of United government
70
Q

Who was rejected as George HW Bush’s Secretary of Defence in 1986?

A

John Tower

71
Q

How many hearings were there in 2003/4

How many in 1993/4

A

37, 135

72
Q

Is Congress effective with legislation? (4Y/4N)

A

Yes

  • all bills pass through both chambers, plenty of time for scrutiny
  • detailed scrutiny by committees
  • timetabling priorities important bills
  • major legislation does pass

No

  • process is too long and complicated
  • need for super majorities
  • 95% of bills fail
  • frequent gridlock
73
Q

Is Congress effective in Representation? (3Y/2N)

A

Yes

  • members attentive to constituent views
  • primaries add incentive to represent
  • members are often local people

No

  • members consider other factors when voting
  • demographically unrepresentative
74
Q

Is Congress effective in oversight? (2Y/2N)

A

Yes

  • prestigious powerful policy specialist committees
  • hearings are frequent, lengthy and well publicised

No

  • presidents party act as watchdogs rather than lapdogs
  • opposition party acts in a highly partisan manner
75
Q

What’s casework?

A

Work done for constituents who have queries. Carried out by a congress members staff.

76
Q

What are earmarks?

A

Legislative provisions that set out funds to spent on specific areas. Congressmen seek these for their area

Politics D (4 decks)

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