Exam 2 Flashcards
Why is Congress the first branch?
Constitution lays out the powers and structures in Article IU
Powers of Congress:
- Regulate commerce
- Spend money
- Taxation
- Lawmaking
- Declare war
- Create Courts
- make all laws “necessary and proper clause”
Congress is Bicameral:
Senate is the Upper/House of Representatives is the Lower
House of Representatives
2 year term 435 members formal, conflictual, delegate model of representation specialist tax policy and economy
Senate
6 year terms 100 members relaxed, consensus, trustee model of representation generalist foreign policy
Division of Labor
created the committee system
party leadership structure
???
Speaker of House (defintion)
Presiding office of the House of Representatives; normally the Speaker is the leader of the majority party.
Majority Leader (def)
Speaker’s chief lieutenant in the House and the most important officer in the Senate. He or she is responsible for managing the floor.
Minority Leader (def)
leader of the minority party who speaks for the party in dealing with the majority
Whip (def)
members of Congress who serve as informational channels between the leadership and the rank and file, conveying the leadership’s views and intentions to the members and vice versa
Speaker of the House
John Boehner
Majority Leader
Republican, Kevin McCarthy
Minority Leader
Democrat, Nancy Pelosi
House Democratic Whip
Steny Hoyer
House Republican Whip
Steve Scalise
Are the house and senate equal?
??
Party Caucus
all DEMOCRATIC members of House and Senate
Party Conference
REPUBLICAN members of House and Senate
President Pro Tempore
serves as Senate presiding officer in the vice-president’s absence (which is nearly all the time).
President Pro Tempore (person)
Patrick Leahy
personal staff
work for individual members of Congress
Majority Leader (person)
Democrat, Henry Reid
Minority Leader (person)
Republican, Mitch McConnell
Senate Democratic Whip/Assistant Majority Leader
Richard Durbin
Senate Republican Whip
John Cornyn
Committee Staff
who serve either the majority or minority on congressional committees
Leadership Staff
work for the speaker, majority and minority leaders, and majority and minority whips in the House of Representatives, and the majority and minority leaders and assistant majority and minority leaders (whips) in the Senate
Institutional Staff
including majority or minority party floor staff and non-partisan staff such as the Capitol Police, Architect of the Capitol (facilities and maintenance employees), and legislative clerks.
support agency staff
non-partisan employees of the Congressional Research Service (CRS), Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and Government Accountability Office (GAO).
chief of staff
heads staff
deputy chief of staff
assists chief of staff
legislative correspondence
drafts letters in response to constituent comments and questions
press secretary
deals with the media
constituent service reps or case workers
helps constituents deal with federal agencies and provides direct constituency services
screening process (divisions into committees)
committees doe the work before it comes to the floor (if it makes it)
standing committee
committee with fixed membership and jurisdiction, continuing from Congress to Congress
select committee
temporary committees appointed to deal with a specific issue or problem
house committee
3 levels of importance:
top committees-rules
second levels-deal with nationality
third levels-housekeeping (i.e. reforms)
