Congress: Lectures Flashcards
Qualifications for House of Representatives?
435 members, 2 year terms, 25 years old, 7 year citizen
Qualifications for Senate?
100 members, 6 year terms, 30 years old, 9 year citizen
How does size impact how the House of Representatives operates?
The large size of the House (435 members) requires stricter rules, limited debate times, and a strong committee system to manage its workload efficiently.
How does size impact how the Senate operate?
The smaller size allows for more deliberative debate and gives each senator more individual influence, while also requiring a higher threshold for passing legislation.
Which chamber has stricter rules and why?
The House of Representatives because it has four times the membership compared to the Senate.
What is “unanimous consent”? In which chamber is this important?
In the Senate, unanimous consent occurs when no one objects to a propsal
How does the filibuster impact the operation of the Senate?
it protects the minority
What are main differences between the U.S. Congress and the British Parliament?
Congress:
- up to individual
- congress doesn’t select the president
- job is to pass laws
- personally driven
- impeached only president
Parliament
- Selected party
- Members of parliament select prime minister
- job is to debate gov. policy
- party discipline
- brig down executive gov with no confidence to vote
What is typically the most trusted institution in the U.S. according to Gallup polling?
The Military
What are the common complaints about Congress?
Bickering
Special Interests
Bargaining
Slow Process
Where does Congress rank in public opinion relative to the other branches?
It is the most disliked branch
What is the “easy” solution to resolving the complaints about Congress?
Giving everyone the same opinion or… destroy liberty.
Solution 2: Dictatorship (not a real solution)
What are other ways to view the complaints? (e.g. bickering could be seen as deliberation)?
Bickering? or is it Deliberation?
Special Interests? or is it the Right to petition the government?
Bargaining? or is it Prudent Compromise?
Slow process? or is it that Consensus takes time?
People’s business? How do we define that?
How do researchers explain the fact that citizens seem to dislike Congress but like their member of Congress?
They dislike Congress as an institution but they like the individual they vote for.
According to the lecture, is conflict over policy necessarily bad?
No, because democracy is inherently messy and the solution to this is to either give everyone the same opinion or destroy liberty.
