congress and the budget Flashcards
power of the purse
the house is responsible for introducing all revenue bills
impediment power what is it? what chamber?
in the house of reps, votes on weather or not to have a trial for a public official ( to investigate them for bribery, high crimes, etc.)
the senate does __________ to executive appointments
confirms them
the senate ratifies ___________
treaties
impeachment trial? what is it? which chamber?
in the senate: officials by vote, If found guilty, by senate they can be removed from office.
A-quit
the senate finds an impeachment trial not guilty.
Minority leader HOUSE
HAKEEN JERRRIES
- speaks for minority party
- leads minority party and does everything the majority party leader does but is less powerful
Minority whip HOUSE
KATHERINE CLARK
- assists minority leader,
-counts votes
- makes sure the party members vote in line with the party.
Rules Committee
- makes the rules
- considers all bills
-determines on what they will vote on - gatekeeping authority
- controlled by majority power
Majority leader HOUSE
STEVE SCALISCE
- assistant to house speaker,
- consults with members
- organizes legislative plans
Majority whip HOUSE
JAMES CLYBURN
- counts heads during votes
- makes members vote with the party
Presiding officer SENATE
KAMALA HARRIS
- vice president
- only one who can break a tie
- receives and counts electoral ballots
president pro tempore
PATTY MURRAY
-rules over the senate when vice cannot
- cannot break a tie
SENATE minority whip ( name)
RICHARD DURBIN
SENATE majority whip ( name)
JOHN THUN
main type of committee: standing committee
- permanent working groups that continue from on congress to the next .
-focus on particular areas of legislation - bills are referred to the appropriate committee which can amened pass or kill a bill
- members develop expertise in the field
- also divided into subcommittees which work out the finer details
House rules committee
” speakers committee”
- through the rule’s committee, the speaker controls all house business / if bills are voted on
- decides on closed or open rule
Closed rule
strict limits on debate and no amendments can be offered.
Open rule
Less strict time limits, permits amendments to be proposed
House committee on ways and means
- deals with taxation and revenue
- power of the purse
- deals with appropriations
Select committee
Special groups for a specific purpose and a limited time ( not standing) Usually done to conduct an investigation into a current matter
Joint committee
includes committee members of both houses. similar to select committees but these bois have bigger long term issues to solve, like economic……. or the congressional library
Conference committee
Temporary to resolve the differences between the house and senate versions of the same bill. Appointed by party leadership from original leg house and senate committees.
Committee chair
elected member of the majority party who runs the committee
Ranking member
Longest serving member of the minority party considered the voice of the party. Usually old farts
why would you want to chair a committee?
responsibility: call meetings schedule hearing, hire staff
Power: select subcommittee chairs get contributions from lobbyists and PACs
pork: bring home dat bacon, lots of power to insert markups to benefit your state/distirict.
important house Oversight
congressional investigation and review of activities of executive branch officials.
senate oversight power
gets to confirm cabenete heads and judges as a check on executive
Both houses of congress get to use their oversight powers to
- hold hearings: committees require executive branch members to testify, can investigate them/ their actions
power of the purse: use budget control to cut funding from programs that congress disapproves of.
appropriations committee
- cut wasteful spending
- all allocates federal spending to federal agencies
how bill becomes law?
- introduced to house
- referred to subcommittees
- subcommittees mark up the bill
- voted on in congress floor
- favorable recognition
- sent to the rules committee, and they decide what amendments can be added
- full house debates and votes on passage
filibuster
unlimited debate on a bill
Cloture
to end a filibuster 60 senators must sign a motion of cloture to force an end to debate
veto
president rejects bill and sends it back to congress
how does congress overide a veto
2/3 vote overrules presidential veto
how long does a president ignore a bill until it becomes law
10 days and it becomes law
signing statement
a written declaration that a president may make when signing a bill into law. usually outlines that the president doesn’t like about the bill. “i’m signing this bill but FUCK THIS BILL >:(
what is the number one influence that makes congress decide how to vote?
political party
Caucasus
membership in a group of congressional members who share interest or goals
Issue complexity
if the member has little to no knowlage of an issue and may ask a college, or an interest group
outside influances on a members vote
pressure from interest groups, PACS or lobbyists
Poison pill
adding an amendment so nobody will vote for it.
Balanced budget
when expenditures equal revenues in a fiscal year ( lmao imagine)
Budget deficit
when expenditures exceed revenues in a fiscal year
federal debt
total amount owned by the federal government
individual income tax how much?
46% of all federal tax revenue
Progressive tax
is proportionate to income. As tax payer income increases so do tax rate
regressive tax
tax is levied at a flat rate without regard to income
Payroll taxes aka social security
36% of fed tax revenue
- regressive taxes bc they are at a fixed rate without regard for the level of tax payer’s income
cooperate taxes
corporations pay a tax rate that ranges from 21% all the way up to 37% on all income
Excise tax
- tax on the manufacturing sale or consumption of a good or service.
- fed taxes gas tobacco, alcohol, airline tickets… etc
Estate and gift taxes
levy on assets of someone of who dies on anything they pass to others if it totals more than 11.2 million
custom/duties
- duties and tariffs are taxes are levied on items brought into the US from abroad
- before the income tax most fed gov came from duties
manitory aka discretionary
60 % of fed spending where congress and the president have no power to directly change it.
- entitlement programs
entitlement programs
a program that guarantees a specific level of benefits to people who meet requirements set by law.
ex: social security medicare, foodstamps
entitlements make it hard to achieve a ______________ budget
balanced
Budget Resolution
A non-binding resolution passed by congress as a budget framework
Appropriations Bill:
Specifies how much money is spent on federal programs.
List the Largest Source of Revenue
Individual income taxes.
List the Second Largest Source of Revenue
Social insurance and Retirement taxes .
List the Third Largest Source of Revenue
Corporation income taxes .
progressive tax
A progressive tax is a tax that the tax rate increases as the amount you have to tax increases. For example, if you are poor and do not have much money to tax, then you will be taxed less than rich people who will be taxed more.
regressive tax
A regressive tax is a tax that relatively decreases with the amount of income. These taxes affect poor people more than middle-income and rich people.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
job is to develop and execute the budget. They also give oversight of agency performance, procurement, financial management, and information technology. They Coordinate and review all significant Federal regulations from executive agencies, privacy policy, information policy, and review information collection requests.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
affects the federal budget process by providing Congress with an objective, nonpartisan, and timely information, analyses, and estimates related to federal economic and budgetary decisions.
