Congress Flashcards
What is pork-barrel spending?
Funds from congress that are pumped into local projects to bring money back to the congressman’s home district
What percentage of the Senate and the House of Representatives is African American?
Senate = 3% House = 10.5%
How long was Senator Ted Cruz’s filibuster? What was he blocking? And what did he talk about?
21 hours, he was blocking Obamacare and he recited Dr Seuss green eggs and ham.
Which pressure group is Marco Rubio linked with and why?
AARP because they’re an interest group for pensioners and many pensioners retire in Florida.
What are the exclusive powers of the Senate?
- confirm appointments
- ratify treaties
- To try the case of impeachment
What are the exclusive powers of the House?
- power of the purse
- power to impeachment
- the power to elect the president if the electoral college is deadlocked
What were the three main effects of the government shutdown in January 2018?
- poor global image for the US
- 11 million federal workers sent home without pay
- makes the ruling party and president look weak
When was the power of the purse most significant and why?
The foreign assistance act in 1974 which suspended all federal funding for the war thus ending the war.
Which judge was impeached in 2010 and why?
Thomas Porteous for accepting bribes
What presidential appointment got a 99-1 approval and for what position?
Jim Mattis as Defence Secretary
Give an example of a recent treaty ratified by the Senate.
START treaty in 2010
How has the Senate’s power to try cases of impeachment played a decisive role in the state of the executive branch?
In 1999 President Bill Clinton was acquitted by the Senate
Which Presidents were all former members of the Senate?
Obama, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy and Truman
What shows that the Senate is more prestigious than the House?
House members frequently seek election to the Senate yet there are rarely ex-senators in the house (the Senate is an upgrade)
How has Paul Ryan controlled the agenda of Congress?
He has been pushing for the repeal of Obamacare.
How does the speaker of the house have influence over legislation?
He determines which legislation is assigned to each committee and which legislation reaches the House floor for a vote.
In what way has the power of Paul Ryan as speaker of the house been limited?
Deep divisions among house republicans have led to a lack of unity in Congress.
What circumstance can lead the speaker of the house to become more powerful?
When the president and the majority of Congress are of different parties because the speaker assumes a leader of the opposition role.
How did Nancy Pelosi give the Democrats more power in Bush’s 2nd term?
As speaker and leader of the opposition, she clashed a great deal with the President over the Iraq war
Give an example of committees conducting investigations.
The senate judiciary committee is investigating russian interferance
Give an example of Senate committees confirming appointments
The Senate foreign relations committee approved Joseph Mondello in March 2018 as the ambassador to the republic of Trinidad and Tobaygo
Give an example of how members of committees are influenced by the state they represent.
Both Senators for North Dakota are members of the Senate agriculture committee
Name three powers of a committee chair.
- control the committee’s agenda
- controls the committee’s budget
- decides when the committee will meet
Who did Trump call a part-time senator and why?
Marco Rubio, because he spent little time in Florida
