Congress Flashcards
What are the powers that are shared equally between the House and the Senate?
Legislation
2/3 of both to override a Presidential veto
2/3 of both to propose constitutional amendment
Declaring war
State the powers are exclusive to the House
Initiating finance bills
Initiate impeachment hearings
Chose president if electoral college is deadlocked
Specialism - money
Ste the powers exclusive to the Senate
Ratifies treaties
Ratifies appointments
Try impeachment cases (decides guilt with 2/3 majority)
Selects Vice President if no electoral college majority
Specialism - foreign policy, judiciary
What powers does each house have that is not constitutionally decreed?
H - the speaker, third in line to presidency
S - the power of the fillibuster to stop bills getting passed (can be stopped by 2/3 majority vote to shut them up)
How often do members of each house get elected?
H - every 2 years s - every 6 years. sorted into three classes on class undergoes election at the same time as the house
Give points for the statement that the senate has more power than the house
Ability to fillibuster and slow bills is not a defined power yet the senate is able to do this (easier to block bills) Federal appointments (especially USSC)
Give points against the statement that the senate is more powerful than the house
Legislation cannot be passed without bother houses (equally powerful in this respect)
Only the house can initiate monetary bills
2/3 requirements from both houses - amendments and veto
Speaker has more abiltiy to propose legislation
Impeachment cant start without the house
House chooses the president in gridlock, senate the v.p
Give points supporting the statement that the senate has more authority than the house
Senate finds president guilty in impeachment process
Senators tend to have more experience therefore choices trusted
Regarded socially as more important/higher up/on way to presidency
Aren’t constantly worries about reelection
Give points opposing the statement that the house has more authority than the house
Both are democratically elected
House being elected more frequently can be seen to give them more authority due to legitimacy
‘Senators > Congressmen’
Agree points
More experience, are generalists
1/100 senators, vote worth 4 times more
Represent larger proportion of the population so command broader consensus and thus greater legitimacy
‘Senators > Congressmen’
Disagree points
Speaker is third in line for presidency
Chose the President in election gridlock
Both have equal legitimacy dues to being elected
The House are elected more frequently arguably command more legitimacy (eval. - but only if they hold seat for more than one congress in a row)
How effective is the frequency of elections to Congress at improving representation of US citizens
H - 2 years, S - 6 years on a three tier system, 1/3 elected every 2 years
Very representative - frequency of eltions increases legitimacy, but issue of house reps. trying to grandstand and not actually do stuff
How effective is the 90%+ incumbency rate to Congress at insuring representation?
H -95%+, S - 90%
Not very representative, not a lot of point of the frequent elections if people stay the same
What influence does the appeal of parties have over representation in Congress?
Has broad appeal, everyone can find someone with policy they agree with
BUT no one is every satisfied specifically
How does the FPTP electoral system affect representation in Congress?
Partially - representatives don’t get elected with absolutely majority, but with a two party system they get pretty close
What is the effect of gerrymandering and money on representation?
Massive effect. Incumbents redraw constituencies to benefit themselves. Reduces vote worth
Money means that incumbents get lot to campaign because people aren’t going to back challenger when they can influence someone who is boun to keep seat
What does the 50% turn out to congressional elections mean for representation?
Less than 50% is not very representative. With FPTP means that often less than 25% of people vote for representative
What evidence of strength of representation within Congress is there?
Steady increase in non white representatives
Increase in women in both houses, quite rapidly since 100th congress
What evidence of weakness of representation within Congress is there?
Women in congress only at 20%, not close to 50/50
Poor LGBT representation
African American and Hispanic representation is poor in senate, strength in House is due to majority minority districts whilst on a broader terms people still elect white representatives
How can members of congress represent their constituents?
Voting on legislation - policies they promised, consult voters, vote in way you believe best for them
Oversight - different gov. depts., ask questions in interest of state e.g. Iowa = agriculture
Pork Barrelling - earmarking legislation to demonstrate a dedication to district/state and introduce interest of constituents onto a bill
Talking to party leader, raising issues in congress, media attention
What factors affect the way representatives vote in congress?
Public/ constituent interest - eg Marjorie Marjolies- Mezvinsky
Party/congressional leadership - Hasrtart Rule
Caucuses - e.g. Congressional Progressive Caucus, Black Caucus
The administration - ‘06 Bush promising to visit constituencies if GOP didn’t vote for what he wanted
Colleges and staff
Interest groups - Grover Norquist and the ATR, 97% in H and 85% in S signed
Personal beliefs - abortion, capital punishment, gun laws
Describe the passage of a bill through Congress?
Initiation: President, congress (party leaders/speaker/committees) or discharge process
Introduced to the houses at same time
Debate and amend: committees debate whether the bill should move forward (90% end up pigeonholed)
Scheduling: House Rules committee and senate floor decide (senate might require unanimous consent)
Decide: bill must get 50%+ in each house
Conference committee: as bill looks different in each house, must be a agreement on final form
President: will sign or veto (veto can be overridden by 2/3 of both houses)
What ways can bills be blocked?
Pigeonholing Hose Rules committee Party leadership Amendment process Timing (filibuster) Conference committee Veto Not voting for it
Bills in the US suffer negative bias - its easier to sink legislation than create it
What makes the legislation process hard in the USA?
Grandstating
Process is complex/negative bias
Power is decentralised
Both houses have equal power
Houses may not be controlled by the same party (e. 2011-2014 under Obama
Party may not e the same as administrations
Party discipline is weak
