Congress outline2 Flashcards
how old do you have to be fore the senate
30
living requirement for the senate
citizen of the US for at least 9 years
live in the state in which they are elected
what race, gender, and age is the average person in senate and house
white male in his late 50’s
average house age
56
average senate age
62
how many women were in the last house
71
how many women were in the last senate
17
how many african americans were in the last house
42
how many african americans were in the last senate
1
how many hispanics were in the last house
2
how many hispanics were in the last senate
2
what percent of people in congress are protestants
50%
what the most common profession in congress
lawyer
what percent of people in the house are lawyers
33%
what percent of people in the senate are lawyers
50%
are there a lot of millionaires in congress
some but not as many as people think
do the people in the house and senate have government experience
yes
what are the 5 major roles of members of congress
be legislators (make laws) represent of their constituents (people that voted for you) committee members servants to their constituents politicians
delegates
a person in congress who is a delegate worried about what people back home think about an issue and will vote that way
trustees
they follow their own beliefs and worry less about what their constituents think
partisans
do what is best for their party
politicos
try to balance all factors to come up with the best decision
what happens when bills are proposed in congress
they get sent to a committee so they can be studied
the committee decides if the bill will be sent to floor consideration (to be considered upon by the full membership of the house or senate)
committees also have an oversight function
how much do sneators and representatives make
$174,000
how much does the speaker of the house make
223,500
how much do leaders of the senate make
193,400
benefits given to people in congress
get a travel allowance to travel back home a few times a year
franking
who is the leader in the house
the speaker of the house
who is seen as the most important person in congress
speaker of the house
how is the speaker of the house selected
elected among the party in the majority house
what are the twi basic duties of the house
preside over the house
keep order in the house
what the speaker of the house does/doesnt do
interprets and applies rules in the house and send bills to committees, schedules votes, and answers questions about rules
can take part in the debates on the floor
often doesn’t vote on bills
where is the speaker of the house located in ranking
behind the vice president in succession order to the president
president of the senate is aka:
vice president of the us
is the VP an actual member of the senate
no
what is the basic job of the senate and what can they not do
break 50-50 ties
never allowed to participate in senate debate
who is the leader of the senate when the VP isnt there
President Pro tem
how is the president pro tem elected
from the majority party and is almost always the most experienced member of the senate
where is the president pro tem in rank
behind the speaker of the house in succession to the president
when does a party caucus usually happen and why
right after an election to make sure the party is on the same page and to elect their leader for the next session of congress
what is the job of a floor leader
help carry out the decisions made by the party caucus
acts as spokesperson for their party
what are the types if floor leaders
majority leader, minority keader, whips
what is the job of a committee chairs person
decide how long hearings will be and who will appear in front of the committee
how many standing committees does the senate have
17
how many standing committees does the house have
20
what is the most about of people in a committee/ least
10-75
what does the fate of most bills come down to
what happens in the standing committee
when do most bills die
with the committee
how is leadership of the committees determined
seniority and who is the majority party
what is the biggest committee in the house
house rules committee
what does the rules committee do
controls the flow of bills on the floor and the conditions needed to bring a bill to the floor
must clear a bill for it to be considered
can slow down or speed up a bill
do select committees stay long
no usually current issues
who controls who is the select committee
speaker of the house and or president pro tem
what do joint committees do
join the house and senate and investigate some sort of issue
what doe the conference committee do
cones together and negotiates differences in bills so that when the bill his the presidents desk, it is one document that says the same exact thing
