Congress

Question 1

What are the powers that are shared equally between the House and the Senate?

Answer 1

Legislation
2/3 of both to override a Presidential veto
2/3 of both to propose constitutional amendment
Declaring war

Question 2

State the powers are exclusive to the House

Answer 2

Initiating finance bills
Initiate impeachment hearings
Chose president if electoral college is deadlocked
Specialism - money

Question 3

Ste the powers exclusive to the Senate

Answer 3

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

Question 4

What powers does each house have that is not constitutionally decreed?

Answer 4

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)

Question 5

How often do members of each house get elected?

Answer 5

H - every 2 years
s - every 6 years. sorted into three classes on class undergoes election at the same time as the house

Question 6

Give points for the statement that the senate has more power than the house

Answer 6

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)

Question 7

Give points against the statement that the senate is more powerful than the house

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Give points supporting the statement that the senate has more authority than the house

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Give points opposing the statement that the house has more authority than the house

Answer 9

Both are democratically elected

House being elected more frequently can be seen to give them more authority due to legitimacy

Question 10

‘Senators > Congressmen’

Agree points

Answer 10

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

Question 11

‘Senators > Congressmen’

Disagree points

Answer 11

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)

Question 12

How effective is the frequency of elections to Congress at improving representation of US citizens

Answer 12

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

Question 13

How effective is the 90%+ incumbency rate to Congress at insuring representation?

Answer 13

H -95%+, S - 90%

Not very representative, not a lot of point of the frequent elections if people stay the same

Question 14

What influence does the appeal of parties have over representation in Congress?

Answer 14

Has broad appeal, everyone can find someone with policy they agree with
BUT no one is every satisfied specifically

Question 15

How does the FPTP electoral system affect representation in Congress?

Answer 15

Partially - representatives don’t get elected with absolutely majority, but with a two party system they get pretty close

Question 16

What is the effect of gerrymandering and money on representation?

Answer 16

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

Question 17

What does the 50% turn out to congressional elections mean for representation?

Answer 17

Less than 50% is not very representative. With FPTP means that often less than 25% of people vote for representative

Question 18

What evidence of strength of representation within Congress is there?

Answer 18

Steady increase in non white representatives

Increase in women in both houses, quite rapidly since 100th congress

Question 19

What evidence of weakness of representation within Congress is there?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

How can members of congress represent their constituents?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

What factors affect the way representatives vote in congress?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Describe the passage of a bill through Congress?

Answer 22

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)

Question 23

What ways can bills be blocked?

Answer 23

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

Question 24

What makes the legislation process hard in the USA?

Answer 24

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