Congress Flashcards
Define Congress
Legislative branch of American government
Powers set out in Article I
Powers of Congress
Oversight Regulate trade between states Power of purse Pass amendments Raise army Legislate on implied powers
Facts of senate
100 members Staggered elections 6 year term Individualistic Generalists Use of voice vote Elected in 1913
Facts of House of Representative
435 members
Depends on population size
2 year term
Describe process of passing a bill
1st Reading Committee stage Timetabling 2nd Reading 3rd Reading (with vote) Conference Committee Signed by President
Problems with process
5% of bills become law
Process of compromise
Votes aren’t predictable
Fragmentation of power
Why is it hard to pass legislation
Party=weak process= complicated Super-majority needed Divided government Both chambers are equal Congress vs president
What different committees are there?
Conference
Standing
House rules
Select
What are select committees
Ad. hoc committees made to scrutinise govt on certain issues
What are Conference committee
Bring both the Senate and House bills together into one united bill
What is the House Rules committee
Timetabling committee
Decide if amendment is allowed
Sets time limits
What are Standing committees?
Permanent
Attached to each department
Congressmen seek appointment
Examples of select committees
Hurricane Katrina
Watergate
Benghazi
Iran-Contra
When are amendments allowed by the timetabling committee?
When a bill is open
What is a closed bill?
One with no amendments allowed
How many closed bills were there in 2013?
44
Key example of influence of Conference Committee
Obamacare
Why are standing committees important?
Scrutiny role- Gitmo
Confirmation- Trump appointment
Strategic in life of a bill- second reading, kill bills
Policy specialists- stay in roles for a long time
When have confirmations failed
1989-John Towers (53-47)
1987- Bork
Merrick Garland
What is the discharge rule?
Forces through bills
Export-Import Bank
Feingold-McCain
Not common
What evidence supports a more partisan congress?
Unanimous votes
Unified votes
How have unanimous votes changed?
1960s-70s= not common 2003= 36.5% 2014= 54.2%
How have unified votes changed?
1981- 37.4%/47.8%
1995- 73.2%/68.8%
Who was the last bipartisan president?
Ronald Reagan
Reasons for a more partisan congress?
Contract with America
6 for ‘06
Divisive Presidents
Solid South
How was Bill Clinton divisive?
Posterboy of Dems
Sexual misconduct
How was George Bush divisive
Iraq War
Illegitimate- 2000 election
How was Obama divisive
Charismatic
Obamacare
Gun control
How many governors and senators did Kennedy win in the South
All
How many states in the EC did Kennedy win in the South
8/11
How many House seats did Kennedy win in the South
99/106
2016- Southern Dem governors
0
2016- Southern Dem senators
1/22
2016- Southern Dem Reps
Small minority
Which Dems switched due to the Southern Strategy?
Strom Thurmond
Phil Gram
Average age of Senator?
62
No. of women in 115th Congress
83 Reps
21 Sen
What helps Democrat women in elections?
EMILY’s List
Which states have all women senators?
California
New Hampshire
Washington
How many Jews are there in Congress
30
How many Muslims are there in Congress
2
How many Hindus are there in Congress?
4
How many Buddhists are there in Congress?
3
How many Hispanics are there in Congress?
34/4
How many African Americans are there in Congress
46/3
How many Asians are there in Congress?
12/7
How many Hispanics in 111th Congress
25/2
How many African Americans in 111th Congress
42/1
How many Asians in 111th Congress
5/2
How many congresspeople have Bachelor degrees?
94%/100%
How many Congresspeople have Master degrees
64%/74%
Who is John Conyers?
Longest serving Chair
Reasons for being a senator?
People go from House to Senate
Exclusive powers of senate
Senator=generalist
Most presidential candidates are senators/governors
Reasons against a Senator?
Overturning vetoes is same Same legislative power Same committees Paid same Both create amendments Both scrutinise Both paid the same
What national interests do Congresspeople have?
Maintain oversight?
Work on long term basis
Require strong policy
Deliverance fails
What constituent interests do Congresspeople have?
Pork-barrel politics
Adopt local issues
Will join specific committees
Will be punished by constituents- Tom Foley
What issues are there in Congress
Pork barrel Filibuster Work 3 days Diffusion of power Gerrymandering Polarisation Ineffective oversight
What was the Big Dig
1995-2007
$14.6 billion
Boston
Redevelopment and road works
Define pork barrel politics
Using federal funds for the employment of your constituents
Define Gerrymandering
Redrawing boundaries so that certain groups are concentrated in areas
What are the effects of gerrymandering?
Less competitive seats
Currently only 23 are competitive
Define filibuster
An act of speaking in unlimited debate, leaving insufficient room for the topic at hand to be debated
When was the last use of filibuster?
2017, Dem try to filibuster the Neil Gorsuch appointment
What 24 hour filibusters have there been?
Strom Thurmond (civil rights) Ted Cruz (Obamacare)
Define impeachment
Removing official from office
What is needed for an impeachment?
Majority in House
Trial in Senate
2/3 Majority in Senate
Examples of presidential impeachment
Andrew Johnson Bill Clinton Richard Nixon (threat_
Examples of judicial impeachment
Samuel Chase (1804- not impeached) Thomas Porteous (Eastern District of Louisiana 2010, perjury)
Age of Dianne Feinstein
83
Who proposed the trustee model in America?
Madison
Who proposed the delegate model in America?
Jefferson
Who proposed the elitist view of democracy?
Hamilton
What is the resemblance model?
That Congress should “look like America”
How many Congressional members were in public service?
271/60
How many Congressional members were in business?
231/42
How many Congressional members were in law
151/51
How many Congressional members were in education?
80/25
Which theory is centered around the party?
The mandate theory- vote for the policies of the party.
