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Congress Flashcards

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1
Q

When does congress begin a new term?

A

Jan 3rd of every odd numbered year

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2
Q

The house has no what until its opening day ceremonies?

A
  • no sworn members
  • no rules
  • no organization
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3
Q

The democrats sit at the ? Of the center of the isle

A

Left

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4
Q

The Republicans sit to the ? From the viewpoint of someone facing the speakers chair

A

Right

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5
Q

What happens opening day at the House?

A
  • members elect a house speaker, chaplain, administrative officer, and sergeant of arms
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6
Q

What happens opening day In the senate?

A

Newly and reelected members are sworn in

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7
Q

Which is shorter — opening day in the House or the Senate? Why?

A

Senate — it is a continuous body

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8
Q

What do both houses do shortly after they get organized that involves the president?

A

Listen to the State of the Union message

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9
Q

Current speaker of the House

A

Paul Ryan

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10
Q

What leader is both an elected presiding officer and the leader of the majority party

A

Speaker of the house

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11
Q

What are the responsibilities of the Speaker of the House

A
  • Interprets rules
  • refers bills to committees
  • signs all bills passed by house
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12
Q

Who is more powerful: majority leader (party officer) or the speaker of the house (presiding officer)?

A

Majority leader

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13
Q

President of the senate is always the

A

Vice President

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14
Q

Current president of the senate

A

Mike pence

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15
Q

What are the responsibilities of the President Pro Tem of the Senate?

A

Serves in the absence of the VP

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16
Q

What is a party caucus

A

Closed meeting with the members of each party in the House

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17
Q

What happens at a caucus

A

Deals with the party organization

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18
Q

Current majority leader in senate

A

Mitch McConell

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19
Q

Most important officers in congress after the speaker are…

A
  1. President of the Senate

2. President Pro Tempore of the Senate

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20
Q

What are the responsibilities of the floor leaders?

A
  • carry out decisions of party caucuses

- steer floor action to their party’s benefit

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21
Q

What are the responsibilities of whips?

A
  • liaison between party’s leadership and its members

- count the way members will vote and tell leaders if they have enough to win

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22
Q

What is seniority rule?

A

Unwritten custom that states that the most important posts will be held by the party’s members with the longest records of service in congress

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23
Q

On what basis are the chairmen of congressional committees selected?

A

Seniority rule

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24
Q

Responsibilities of committee chairman

A
  • decides what bills congress will look at
  • if they will hold public hearings
  • if bills will be given to the whole body or not
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25
Q

How does majority party control the flow of bills in the committees?

A
  • majority party holds majority seats in standing committee

- standing committee determines which bills congress will see

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26
Q

Standing committee

A

Permanent panel that considers certain types of bills that deal with the same subject matter

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27
Q

Select committee

A

Committees called for a specific reason that last a limited amount of time

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28
Q

All bills for raising taxes must originate from

A

The House of Representatives

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29
Q

Explain public v. Private bill

A
  • Public: bill of general application

- Private: bill applies only to a specific group of individuals

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30
Q

Joint resolution v. Concurrent resolution

A
  • Joint: proposal for action that has the force of law when passed
  • Concurrent: does not have the force of law
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31
Q

What type of resolution has the force of law although it does not become a law

A

Joint resolution

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32
Q

What is a “Christmas Tree”?

A

When multiple riders are attached or “hung” on bills

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33
Q

What does it mean to pigeonhole a bill

A

To blast it out of committee with a discharge petition signed by a majority of house members

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34
Q

What is a discharge position

A

A petition that needs to be signed by a majority of House leaders in order to pigeonhole a bill

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35
Q

What happens at public hearings

A
  • formal information-gathering meetings
  • anyone can testify if necessary
  • committee can force a witness to testify under the threat of imprisionment
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36
Q

What is a junket

A

Field trip

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37
Q

5 options a full committee has when it gets a bill from a subcommittee

A
  1. Report the bill with a “do pass” recommendation
  2. Refuse to report the bills (pigeonhole)
  3. Report the bill in amend form
  4. Report the bill with an unfavorable recommendation
  5. Report a committee bill
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38
Q

Which committee is called the traffic cop? Why?

A
  • House Rules Committee

- screens thousands of bills that come before the house

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39
Q

The Rules Committee has what power?

A

Speed, delay, or prevent House action on a measure

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40
Q

The purpose of deciding important bills by a Committee of the Whole is to

A
  • gain insight from all the members of the House
  • quorum has less strict rules
  • floor moves at a faster pace
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41
Q

Voting in House

A
  • computerized systems

- 15 minutes

42
Q

Voting in Senate

A
  • voice votes

- 6-7 minutes

43
Q

Who carries a finished bill from the House to the Senate

A
  • congressional page
44
Q

Major differences between House and Senate on debate ate

A
  • floor debate is limited to in the House; nearly unrestrained in Senate
  • Senate rules don’t allow another senator to call for a vote and so cut off a speech
45
Q

How are senate debates brought to a close

A

Unanimous vote

46
Q

What is a filibuster? Why do Senators do it?

A
  • attempt to talk a bill to death

- senators use it because it prevents or delays senates action on a measure

47
Q

Who holds the filibuster record

A

Senator strom thurmond

48
Q

How many votes does the Senate require for cloture

A

60 votes (3/5ths)

49
Q

2 reasons cloture is so difficult to achieve

A
  1. Senators tradition to senators tradition of free debate

2. Worry that it will undercut the value of a filibuster that may want to eventually use

50
Q

Joint committee vs. conference committee

A
  • joint: party made up of both houses and serves permanently

- conference: called to serve for a specific purpose for a limited time

51
Q

If the President takes no action on a bill submitted in the middle of a regular session what happens to the bill

A

It automatically becomes a law after 10 days

52
Q

President can pocket veto a bill only if

A

Congress adjourns its session within 10 days of submitting the bill and he doesnt sign it

53
Q

3 reasons congress is bicameral

A
  • historically: framers knew a bicameral system from England
  • practically: settle disputes between Virginia and New Jersey plan
  • theoretically: way to spread out the power of congress and prevent it from overpowering the other branches
54
Q

Only state to have a unicameral legislature today is

A

Nebraska

55
Q

How is the principle of checks and balances reflected in the bicameral congress

A
  • each house of congress checks the other so that one does not overwhelm the other
56
Q

Why do some people believe that the senate is un Democratic and should be abolished

A
  • states (not the people) are equally represented in senate

(Ex. Wyoming w population of 1/2 million, and CA with population of 38 million both have 2 senators)

57
Q

How long is a term for a representative in House

A

2 years

58
Q

What did the 20th amendment do

A

Changed start date of a term from March 4th to January 3rd

59
Q

Number of our current congress

A

115

60
Q

Difference between a term and a session

A
  • session: period of time in which each year congress conducts business
  • congress has two sessions each term (each year)
61
Q

What does it mean for a congress to adjourn

A

End a regular session in congress

62
Q

Special session vs. regular session in congress

A
  • regular session: routine (1x a year)

- special session: meeting called to deal with an emergency situation

63
Q

How many members are in the House

A

435

64
Q

What is the number of terms a member of congress must serve

A

There is no limit

65
Q

Only way congressional terms can be limited today

A

If congress passed an amendment that placed a limit on terms

66
Q

The number of House members representing each State is recalculated by the Cenus Bureau how often?

A

10 years

67
Q

What does it mean to reapportion seats in the House of representatives

A

Redistribute the seats in House after each decennial census

68
Q

What is gerrymandering

A

Drawing a district to the advantage got the party that controls the state legislature

69
Q

Reapportionment

A

Redistribution of seats in House

70
Q

The official body that gerrymanders congressional districts

A

State legislatures

71
Q

How many seats in the House of Representatives does CA have

A

53

72
Q

Agency assigned the task of reapportionment

A

Congress

73
Q

The ratio of representatives in the House to people in the districts

A

1 to 1

74
Q

In most off year elections what usually happens

A

The party that holds the presidency usually loses seats in the off year

75
Q

When will the next two off year elections occur?

A
  • 2018

- 2022

76
Q

What congressional requirements are there for a congressional district

A
  • each district must be in 1 piece
  • the districts in each state must have an equal number or inhabitants
  • in a comparatively small area
77
Q

A House district is drawn to give an advantage to one political party has been…?

A

Gettymandered

78
Q

How did the Supreme Court rule on gerrymandering

A
  • districts in the House of Representatives had to contain roughly equal populations
79
Q

What kind of gerrymandering is illegal

A

Gerrymandering solely on race

80
Q

What are the formal qualifications to be a member of the House

A
  • must be 25 years old
  • US citizen for at least 7 years
  • inhabitant from the state of which he was elected
81
Q

What fraction of members does each house of congress need to expel a member

A

2/3rds majority

82
Q

How many members are in the senate

A

100 (2 per state)

83
Q

How does a typical Senator’s constituency differ from that of a typical representative in the House

A
  • senator: there to represent the state as a whole

- representative: represent their constituents

84
Q

How and why did the 17th amendment change the way senators were chosen

A
  • 17th enforces that senators are chosen by voters in each state
  • response to the abuse of some legislatures choosing only wealthy and corrupt men to contribute to their campaigns
85
Q

Why did the Framers set each senators term at 6 years instead of 2 or 4?

A
  • gives senators a greater degree of job security and isolates them from pressures of public opinion
86
Q

Who holds the all time record of being elected to the senate

A

Robert Byrd

87
Q

Name two US Senators from CA

A
  • Dianne Feinstein

- Kamala Harris

88
Q

How any senators are up for re-election every two years?

A

1/3

89
Q

Since a majority of senators are always experiences, the senate is said to be what?

A

A continuous body

90
Q

To run for senate, a person must meet what qualifications?

A
  • 30+ years old
  • been a citizen of the US for 9 years
  • an inhabitant from the state in which he is elected
91
Q

Trustee

A

Believe that each bill they face must be decided on its merits (conscience and personal opinion)

92
Q

Delegate

A

Congressmen that vote the way that their constituents would want

93
Q

Partisan

A

Vote in line with wishes of party leaders

94
Q

Politico

A

Combines all the roles and tries to balance their own views with view of their constituents, party leaders, and pressure of staying in office

95
Q

When congress checks to see that the various executive agencies are acting in line with the laws they have made they are exercising what power

A

Oversight function

96
Q

Oversight function

A

When congress checks to see that the various executive agencies are acting in line with the laws they have made they are exercising what power

97
Q

As role of servant to their constituents, congressmen do what

A

Accommodate as many of their constituents requests as possible to ensure their vote in the next election

98
Q

What sort of compensation does Congress receive?

A
  • senators and members: $174,000
  • speakers: $223,500
  • majority and minority leaders: $193,400
  • all receive generous travel allowances, pay little for life and health insurance, and obtain a generous retirement plan
99
Q

Members of congress receive franking privileges, which is what?

A

Free use of the mail

100
Q

Speech and Debate clause makes congressmen immune from what 2 things?

A
  1. Arrest during session for any non-criminal offense

2. Immunity from lawsuits dealing with lintel or slander arising out of their official conduct

Government (5 decks)

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