Congress Notes Flashcards
What is congress known as
The first branch
Who is the president pro tempore
Member with the most seniority in the majority party
What is a congressional caucus
When likeminded individuals are together
What are the four types of committees
Select committees
Joint committees
Conference committee
Standing committee
Select committees
Groups appointed for a limited purpose and duration (ex a special committee to investigate drug use in baseball)
Joint committees
Those on which both reps and senators serve
Conference committee
A joint committee appointed to resolve differences between the house and senate in versions of a bill (senate bills are always favored and passed more because senate has already won filibuster)
Standing committee
The most important type of committee - ex armed services and ways and means
Where is the rules committee what does it do
Only occurs in the house, sets rules for debate
What is the CBO and what does it do
The congressional budget office: it advises on economic effects and impacts of spending programs, advises on costs for different programs (nonpartisan estimating how much a bill will cost)
What is the GAO and what does it do
The general accounting office; it performs financial audits of money spent by the executive branch (past money that has already been spent)
What does 2/3 house and 2/3 senate approval mean
Amendment
What type of legislature does congress have and why
Bicameral so congress doesn’t have too much power
where is most of the work done in the house
in committee
order of importance in the senate
majority leader
majority whip
minority leader
minority whip
