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Congress vs parliment Flashcards

1
Q

When we compare legislature we look at 4 areas, what are these?

A

Legislation
Oversight and scrutiny
Representation
Recruitment

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2
Q

What is legislation?

A

Considering the legislative bills and out before it and passing them into law and rejecting them

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3
Q

What is oversight and scrutiny?

A

Checks and balances on other branches of givt
Executive (president or pm/cabinet) and judiciary (moniter criticise, disciplines)

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4
Q

What is representation?

A

Who do they represent as elected members (voters party) resemblance theory, demographic representation of different groups in society

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5
Q

What is recruitment?

A

How effectively be they encourage individuals to stand for the election to the legislature
do they recruit high office

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6
Q

What is parliaments key strengths- oversight and scrutiny?

A

-ability to question members of executive directly (pmq)
-Geowing expertise in the HOC

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7
Q

What is parliaments key strengths-legislation?

A

Govt can implant it’s programe with relative ease

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8
Q

What is parliaments key strengths- Representation?

A

Increased diversity in the HOC
A range of parties are represented in the HOC
Growing expertise in the HOL

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9
Q

What is parliaments key strengths- recruitment?

A

Growing expertise in HOL
All pm in 20th century served as backbench mp

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10
Q

What is congress key strengths- oversight and scrutiny?

A

A strong and well established committee system
-Two powerful chambers which reduces the chances of one party dominating over the executives
-Several important checks on the executive such as veto overrides and arvufe and concent

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11
Q

What is congress key strengths- Recruitments?

A

14/16 or the most recent vp nominations for democrate have been senetors
2/3 most recent president have been senetors

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12
Q

What is congress key strengths- representation?

A

-Twi powerful chambers which refuces the chance of one party dominating over the executive
Two year old election cycles improve accountability to voters

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13
Q

What is parl key criticisms- oversight and scrutiny?

A

Does not provide an effective check on the govt
a the second chamber (HOL) is weak
It’s comitte remains either dominated by party (public committee) or relatively ruthless (select committee)

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14
Q

What is parliaments key criticisms- legislation?

A

Fails the olson rule in that it passes more then 90% of legislation it considers into law (passes 98%)

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15
Q

What is the olson rule?

A

Legislation should pass into law more then90% or the bills it considers into law it is get do they are not scrutinising it m but rubber stamp decisions made by executives

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16
Q

What is parliaments key criticisms- representation?

A

The seconded chamber is unelected

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17
Q

What is congress key criticisms- oversight and scrutiny?

A

Impeachment has never been used against a president
String influences of powerful interest groups on individual members of congress and committee

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18
Q

What is congress key criticisms- legislation?

A

Congress is too often a ‘bastion of negotiation and negotiate’ meaning it’s very effective (only passes 2%)

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19
Q

What is congress key criticisms- Representation?

A

Strong influence of powerful interest groups on individual members of congress and a committee
- ‘revolving door’ in the house of representation
-Senete is exceptionally
unrepresentative it the USW we a whole
-Effectivly only 2 partys represented

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20
Q

What is congress key criticisms- recruitment?

A

Revolving door in house of representatives
Congressional carters is a rare out towards the presidency
a high levels of incumbency especially in the senete

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21
Q

Comparing congress and parliment
Legislation in congress and parliment essay plan?

A

CONGRESS -Dosent fail olson test and can be given credit for not rubbers stamping decisions
-It fails to legislation particularly over issues like gun controll
-Only passes 2% of bills considered
-Looses influence through federalism
PARLIMENT- passes legislation to easily and the executive dominated it
-A legislature that legislates
-Signirucant laws passed HRA Devellution, gun controll, constitutional reform to the HOL withdrawal from EU all beyond congress ability

22
Q

Comparing congress and parliment
Representation in congress and parliment essay plan?

A

CONGRESS
-2 yr cycles improving accountability to vote
-Senete unrepresentative
-Revolving door in HOR
-Steing influence of power for interest groups
-Rifle association
-Senetor follow trustee model
PARLIMENT
-Range of parties represented in HOL
-Diverse HOC
-HOL unelected
-Parliment whip is strong
-Cons relationship with big beast

23
Q

Comparing congress and parliment
Recruitment in congress and parliment essay plan?

A

CONGRESS
-Incumbency leads to low churn levels
-Marjorie if members law and business
-Few members of congress in high office
-14/16 democrate vp have been in congress
-2/3 presidents were senete last were JFK and Johnson
Cabinet rarely recruited from congress
PARLIEMNT
- MPS tend to come from narrow background but becoming more diverse
-All members of UK cabinet and Britain’s PM are recruited from legislature

24
Q

Comparing congress and parliment
oversight and scrutinyin congress and parliment essay plan?

A

CONGRESS
-strong wrll established committee
-Excesive checks and balance causing gridlocks
-Strong scrutiny ir executive
-Advice and convent powers ‘controll iver purse’
-Threy of impeachment
PARLIMENT
executive dominate legislature through marjority
Weak commuter
PMQ are political threats
Lords can eliminate power

25
Is congress a do nothing- when did this become apparent?
Harry truman's 80th congress
26
Is congress a do nothing- what can it be good at?
Oversight and scrutiny
27
Is congress a do nothing- yes bills?
-Only passes 2% of bills (mainly all the ones they pass related to renaming federal buildings or post offices, this is not very substantive unlike uk e.g. dunblane)
28
Is congress a do nothing- yes what do Ornstein and mann say?
We have been studying washington politics and congress for more than 40 years, and never have seen them this dysfunctional The core of the problem lies with the republican party
29
Is congress a do nothing- yes public approval rates?
Record low in the 113th congress 10% In eisenhowers era it was 40-45%
30
Congress deserves its do nothing reputation- yes support from partys obama and bush?
Bith had lowest levels of support from opposition parties then any presidents in morden era This is evidence of growing partisanship proved by Norton and the brookinga institute
31
Congress deserves its do nothing reputation- yes Significant failures?
Govt shut down during 112-13th congress over failure to approve budget and the failure to re authorise the violence against women act 112th
32
Is congress a do nothing- yes filibusters and clotures?
Huge increase since 1990's
33
Is congress a do nothing- iron triangles?
encourage 'conservatism on key policy areas' like energy gun control, foreign relations, agriculture and defence
34
Is congress a do nothing- no recent bill passings?
Most significant in america -Patriotic act -Wall street bailout -Stimulus package -Obamacare -Lilly Ledbetter fair pay act The 114th congress already passed a rewrite of the patriotic act and an overhaul of no child left behind
35
Is congress a do nothing- no, other functions it does efficiently?
Oversight and scrutiny performed effectively Olson- congress is a working assembly not a talking one' -Burke says assembly's should be deliberate - Olson- Assembly's that pass more than 90% legislation presented to them mearley rubber stamp decisions taken elsewhere
36
Is congress a do nothing- no approval ratings and actions taken?
since 9/11 approval ratings rose significantly from 42-84% -Action from congress like authorizing military intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq The patriot act and established the department of homeland security
37
Is congress a do nothing- no parties working together?
-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat) and house minority leader John Boehner (R) worker together to deliver 'obamacare' Shows gridlock can be broken
38
Is congress a do nothing- no electoral dictatorship?
Avoids electoral dictatorship Montesquieu investigated a liberal democracy as containing clear separation of powers and extensive 'checks and balances'
39
Is congress a do nothing- no, the founding fathers deliberation?
Clear separated powers No branch has absolute power Making the process for passage of legislation liable to result in gridlock
40
Is congress a do nothing- no government agency's are just doing more?
Re-authorisation and Re-appropriation of bills for govt agency's take up time
41
Is congress a do nothing- no HOR?
HOR always on a permanent re-election cycle
42
Is congress a do nothing- pork barreling?
Spending which benefits the constituents of a politician in returning for their support for him through votes and campaign contributions (the pork being funding for govt programmes whose economic or service benefits are concentred in a particular area but whose costs are spread among all taxpayers
43
Pork barreling- significant examples?
Public work projects -National defence spending projects -Agriculture subsidies
44
Pork barreling- definition?
-Requested by only one chamber of congress -Not specifically authorised -Not competitive awarded -Not requested by the president -Greatly exceed the president's budget request -Not the subject of congressional hearings -Serves only a local or special interest
45
Pork barrels- earmarks?
Add ons to bills going through congress to gain support from individual members of congress -Donald Trump 2018 state of the union address to congress pointed out the benefits of this when getting legislation passes They provide the most benefits to those with spots on prime congressional committees
46
Pork barrelling- case 1 the 'Big dig'?
Boston (Massachusetts) Plan to relocate an existing 3.5- miles (5.6 km) section of the interstate highway system underground -Ended in $14.6 billion or over $4 billion per mile -Tip O'neill (D-Mass, after whom one of the Big Dig tunnels was named, pushed to have the big dig funded by the federal govt while he was the speaker of the united state house of representatives, making him richer
47
Is congress a do nothing- case study 2 'The bridge to nowhere'?
Proposed by Republican senator Ted Stevers (chair of the transportation committee) Would have cost $398 million and connected islands 50 residents and Ketchikan international airport to revillagigedo island and ketchikan Not authorised due to backlash when Obama and McCain raised it as unjust in 2008 presidential campaign
48
Pork barrelling- Montana state?
MS university awarded with $740,000 to reaserch the use of sheep graxing as a means of weed contoll
49
Pork barreling- Department of defence (DoD) act?
In 2014 budget $90 million allocated for tank upgrades that the US ary did not even want. The supplier of the tanks had operations across several congressional districts (built for the cold war after it happened)
50
Pork barreling- backlash?
Peaked in 2006 with about 14,000 projects about $30 billion The 2008 presidential election raised public awareness and anger 2010- Congress put a moratorium ban on the practice of earmarking (meaning it went down to 0 but now gone up)
51
Pork barreling- impact on the moratorium ban in 2010?
Citizens against the govt waste 2020- the pig book -Legislators added $15.9 billion in earmarks in 2020 -Increased from $15.3 billions in 2019 -$16.5 billion in 2010 (congress passed a moratorium) -Requested by one chamber of congress Great exceed the president's budget -Not specifically authorised

Politics P2- mr scriven (18 decks)

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