Congress examples - representation Flashcards
What is an example of a united government?
Joe Biden’s first two years in office, Trump’s first two years and Obama’s first two years in office (all 3 elements controlled by Democrats)
What is an example of a divided government
All of Obama’s second term and Biden’s latter two years
What is the current party control of the senate, HOR and presidency?
Presidency: D
Senate: D
House: R
What is the division of the senate like currently between the two parties?
There are 48 democrats and 49 Republicans.
There are three independent: Sanders, Angus King and Sinema who all vote with the Democrats
Who is currently the speaker of the house
Republican Mike Johnson
Who is currently the majority leader in the Senate?
Chuck Schumer
How many states have only one representative?
Seven
Who has the most representatives and how many do they have?
California has 53 members to represent its population of 40 million
Examples of Presidents asking congress to pass legislation?
Obama and the Affordable Care Act
Trump and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Example of congressional oversight?
Following allegations of collusion by the Trump campaign with the Russians in the 2016 election, both houses begun a series of investigations, but no evidence was found
Examples of congress overriding president’s veto?
Congress overrode four of Bush’s 12 vetoes. For example, in 2007, they overrode his veto on the Water Resources Development Bill
Congress overrode just one of Obama’s 12 vetoes on the Justice Against sponsors of terrorism act which would have allowed the families of victims of 9/11 to sue the government of Saudi Arabia for any role they may have played
Example of both houses concurring in a declaration of war?
Occurred on only 5 occasions- the last one in 1941, when America declared war on Japan
Example of both houses having to confirm the appointment of a VP?
In 1973, Nixon appointed Gerald Ford and he was confirmed in both houses
When has the HOR successfully impeached a president?
Trump for the abuse of power and the obstruction of Congress in 2019 and for the incitement of insurrection in 2021
How many times has the HOR successfully impeached a president since 1789?
21 times
When is the only two times the HORs have chosen the president when the electoral college was deadlock?
To pick Jefferson in 1800 and John Quincy Adams in 1824
What is an example of a treaty the senate ratified?
In 2010, the senate ratified the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), negotiated by Obama with the Russians
What is an example of an executive order used by a president, meaning it circumvented the Senate?
Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran in 2015. However, when Trump came into power, he withdrew from the JCPOA, invalidating Obama’s executive agreement
An example of the Senate confirming a judicial appointment?
When Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died in 2020, Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by 52 votes to 48 in the senate
What is an example of the Senate trying cases of impeachment?
Trump was acquitted by the Senate for the accusation of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Then, for the second accusation, the Senate fell 10 votes short of the 2/3rds majority required for conviction.
What is an example showing the HOR go for election to the senate?
In 2017, there were 50 former house members in the senate, but no ex-senators in the HOR
Which former presidents have all been Senators?
Kennedy
Nixon
Obama
Biden
What was the representation of women like in the 116th Congress (2019-21)
24% of congress compared to 51% of the US
What was the representation of black Americans like in the 116th Congress (2019-21)
10.4% of congress compared to 12.1% of the US
What was the representation of age like in the 116th Congress (2019-21)
The average age of congress was 59 years old compared to the US’s average age of 38 years
What % of incumbent congressmen were re-elected to congress in 2020?
84% in the senate and 95% in the house
What is an example of indulgent pork barrel politics?
‘Big Dig Highway’ Project in Boston, costing 14.6 bn moving 3.5 miles of highway underground
In the 2018 election cycle, how much more did incumbent senators raise than challengers?
Incumbent senators raised seven times as much as their challengers
What is an example of gerrymandering?
In North Carolina in 2020, the Democrats saw the most votes and yet the majority of seats were won by Republicans
Example of a party unity vote in the HOR?`
The Federal Information Systems Safeguard Act (2016).
Establishing operations and laws concerning the security of federal information systems
In this vote, Republicans voted 237-2 and Democrats voted 4-179, showing it was clearly a party vote
Which Democrats and which Republicans are often known for not voting with their party?
Conservative Democrats like Jim Cooper of Tennessee, often votes Republican and moderate Republicans like senator Susan Collins of Maine, often vote with the Democrats.
Who are the congressional black caucus?
- Formed in 1971 exclusively for Black American members of both houses
-originally only had 13 members, but there are now 60 members - all but two are House Democrats and only 5 black republicans have ever joined
Who are the House Freedom Caucus?
Considered to be the most right wing group of all caucuses
Currently 45 members and all are Republican
Supports limited government, the constitution and liberty
What’s an example of a incumbent congressman losing the primary to be elected for their congressional district?
Democrat Joseph Crowley served as the representative for the 14th Congressional district of New York from 1999 to 2019, until he was defeated by Democratic Primary Challenger AOC
What is an example of congressmen not voting with party lines because they are worried about constituents views back home?
12 Republican representatives voted against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017). All were predominantly from California, New Jersey, New York, whose constituents would have seen their taxes increase
