Exam 2 Flashcards
What is bicameralism?
It is a type of legislature that has 2 separate assemblies/chambers/houses
What are the qualifications for becoming a member of the House?
- at least 25 years old
- American citizen for 7 years
- legal resident of the state representing and must reside there
What are the qualifications for becoming a member of the Senate?
- at least 30 years
- American citizen for 9 years
- legal resident of the state representing and must reside there
As of today, how many HOR members are there? how long are their terms?
There are 435 total members (number of representatives per state varies on population. They serve 2 year terms and are considered for re election every year
As of today, how many Senate members are there? how long are their terms?
There are 100 total Senators (2 per state). They serve 6 year terms but every 2 years, 1/3 of the members face re election
How are Congress members elected?
Although Senators were previously chosen by state legislators, both House and Senate members are elected by the people
What are some of Congress’ powers in economic matters?
They are allowed to impose tax, coin and borrow money, regulate interstate and foreign commerce and spend money on the common defense/general welfare
What is meant by elastic clause? How does Congress exercise their right?
The elastic clause AKA necessary and proper clause gives Congress the power to make “necessary and proper” laws that allows them to execute their own power.
What are some of Congress’ powers in foreign affairs?
Specifically, the Senate can ratify treaties and confirm presidential appointments. Only Congress can declare war and raise/finance the army/navy and call out the state militias.
What are the differences in power of House and Senate?
The House has the power to initiate bills (legislation to raise/spend money), impeach federal officials and elect Presidents in a tie. The Senate has the right to amend HOR’s bills, perform trials for impeachment cases, confirm pres. appointments and ratify treaties
t/f although Congress has legislative power, they don’t have exclusivity
true, the president can still veto their laws unless 2/3 of House and 2/3 of Senate override it. He can also recommend new laws calling Congress into special session
Are Congress and presidents elected separately or together?
separately, members of Congress are elected from States and congressional districts by plurality vote (majority)
In 1790, there was one House member for every _________ people but as population increased, total membership of the house reached in 1911 with ____ members. Now one House member represents about ____ people
33,000
435
700,000
What is gerrymandering?
the process of redrawing district lines to give an advantage to one party over another
Is gerrymandering constitutional?
Although it has been brought up multiple times, its constitutionality has not yet been determined
How does the Senate have unequal representation?
since we only get 2 Senators per state, some represent much more people than others. The problem is that the 9 largest states are home to 51 percent of the US population
How does the electoral environment of congress relate to their re elections?
Over time, Congress has managed to negotiate and win by holding their seats either by focusing on party-centered or candidate centered system in order to gain votes from the public.
What is a retrenchment?
When you try to make cutbacks on bureaucracies, agency budgets and it may also include when agencies are moved out of existence by deregulation
What is the bureaucratic culture?
It means bureaucracy prefers incremental change and it doesnt like to violate an equilibrium (does not like radical change)
What types of equilibriums do we have for bureaucracies?
- budgets from congress are constant
- number of personal they have access to
the culture of bureaucracies favor ______
procedures
What is a standard operating procedure?
a set of step-by-step instructions compiled by an organization to help workers carry out complex routine operations.
What is the problem with standard operating procedures?
If we ask an agency to do it’s duty, their standard operating procedure may be much different than the intended goal.
If a new governmental mission arises, what should we do?
Create a new agency to do its mission because the existing agencies are not good at performing tasks they are not assigned to initially.
According to Reagan, the closest thing to immortality is a _______ _______, why did he say this?
Government program. Because once an agency is established, they very rarely go away
If a president gets a bill and it is not signed after 10 days (not including Sunday) what happens?
If Congress is in session, the bill becomes a law.
If Congress is not in session, the bill is dead (pocket veto)
What is the difference between a regular veto and a pocket veto?
A regular veto is when a president forbids a law. A pocket veto is when the president allows a bill to die on his desk
How is a veto overruled?
2/3 of House and 2/3 of Senate
What happens when a president doesn’t like a veto but he cant “pocket veto” it because Congress is in session and it will be overruled?
A president signs the bill but also releases a signing statement that gives his reasons for not enforcing those laws
Are signing statements unconstitutional?
It has not yet been decided
What are some examples of areas where the Supreme Court has not weighed in their decision?
- signing statements
- war powers act
What is the war powers resolution act?
Congress wrote this law that says that presidents have to report everything to them in regards to war
In 1973, who vetoed the war powers resolution act? What happened after?
President Nixon
Congress overrides his veto and makes it an official law and since he didn’t chose to enforce it, he was forced out of office (impeachment)
why do some argue that the War Power resolution act unconstitutional?
Every president that has been involved with war and reports to Congress (War powers act), they never cite it as the War Powers act because they believe it is unconstitutional
Instead of the presidents signing under the War powers act, what law do they cite when reporting their war info??
They cite to UN resolutions about their conduct in War
what prevents the supreme court from enforcing laws?
Although they have the power to declare which laws are unconstitutional, they do not have the power of enforcing that.
Are signing statements vetos?
No. They require an action AKA signature that passes the law but revises it
What are line item vetos?
a special form of veto power that authorizes a chief executive to reject particular provisions of a bill enacted by a legislature without vetoing the entire bill. (similar to signing statements)
Are line item vetos unconstitutional? explain
Since Congress did not like that the president vetoed almost all of their bills, they sued to the Supreme court in the case of Clinton v. City of NY. Clinton lost and the line item veto was overthrown
What was the case of Clinton v City of NY?
It was a Supreme Court case that struck down the Line Item Veto Act because it gave the executive the authority to amend a law without having to go through the legislative process.
Why was the line item veto declared unconstitutional?
article 1 section 7 of the Constitution, lays out what vetos are and it says that a veto is when a president either signs it (approved) or sends its back. It doesn’t say a president can edit the bill therefore in order to perform a line item veto, one would have to amend the constitution’
Which amendment allows us to amend the constitution
28th
Based on what the Supreme Court says about a line item veto, what would they declare a signing statement?
It would be declared unconstitutional bc a signing statement is basically a line item veto
What is civil law?
law that comes from a political leader
What is common law?
judge made law (when no law is made by legislators). The judges have to make up law out of their own minds.
Which US state has civil law jurisdiction?
Louisiana
Which type of law does the US have?
We have both. Civil law, where things have been stated by legislators (state,local and national) but we also have gray areas where judges have to fill in.
How does common law refer to the Supreme Court?
The Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution gives them the authority to potentially overthrow laws that a legislator made based on his/her understanding of the constitution. So it is a common law understanding of the making of a law
Which amendments allow for privacy?
1st, 4th, 5th, 9th and 14th
What did the Supreme Court do in the Griswold v Connecticut case?
When the state of Connecticut wanted to prevent the use of condoms (contraceptives), the Supreme Court stepped in and denied that prevention based on the right to privacy (1,4,5,9,14 amendments)
What is American bicameralism?
Unlike most countries, the US is a true bicameral. Neither house can pass a law or resolution or anything that requires a president’s signature without each other’s approval. We have an establishment of 2 houses (lower and upper)
What are the types of committees?
Standing committees: permanent (legislative functions
Select committees: Temporary (limited purpose, limited duration)
Joint committees: members of House and Senate
Conference: temporary (works out the differences between House and Senate if they have similar bills
what other committees do congressional committees work with?
subcommittees: their purpose is to help each of the large committees
What is the only standing committee in which members are not permanent? Why?
The budget committee because it is so powerful (appropriation and authorization is brought together).So, people are required to rotate in and out every couple of years
What are the power committees of the US congress?
- The Appropriations committee (one for each)
- The Budget committee (one for each)
- The House of Representatives’ ways and Means committee: where the House originates tax legislation
- The Senate finance committee: where the Senate originates tax legislation
- The Rules Committee (one for each)
What is the most important rule that comes from the House Rules committee?
The rule that states what day they are debating on a certain bill. They set the schedule.
In order to avoid the president pocket vetoing legislation, what is the best method?
Make sure the legislation gets early in the year not towards the end because then it can be pocket vetoed and since Congress will not be in session, they will not have the ability to override it
What happens when the House and Senate pass a similar bill with minor differences?
They will have to go to a conference committee where some members of the House and some of the Senate iron out one bill that is identical from both bodies. It then goes back to Congress to be re-passed.
When do joint committees occur?
If we have a committee where both House and Senate members are involved, then there will also be a creation of a joint committee
Are there any permanent joint committees?
Yes, but they don’t have to meet frequently
What is the difference between the authorization committee and the appropriation committee
Authorization:
- happens by standing committees - establishes a framework for a program (what it should, where it is located etc) - provides permission and direction on funds and spending
Appropriation:-happens by a subcommittee under the Senate + House Appropriations committee - has permission to draw funds from US treasury
(form of check and balance)
According to lecture, what is alignment of incentives
Designing things in government and private sectors so that people have incentives that are compatible.
What is the relationship between Congress and its executive agencies?
If an agency does not please Congress as well as the president, they can cut your budget. The executive agencies are caught between the president and congress. At some point, presidents even put in GAG orders (members of the agencies cannot talk to congress without permission of the executive) yet congress shut them down
What are congressional procedures?
They include the following
- passing bills
- giving a rule (schedule) for the bill to be debated
- processes by which you can sanction members (majority vote of your house)
- processes by which you can remove/fire members (2/3 vote of the Congress house that person resides in)
Why is Congress responsive?
They have an incentive to be responsive because they want to get re-elected.
How is Congress irresponsible?
Since they want to get re-elected, they also like to be irresponsible in government spending. In order to get more votes, they will help the public by spending on things that should not really be a priority and act irresponsible about their spending.
What is bill sponsorship?
Any individual member of Congress has the right to sponsor a bill. Members can only sponsor bills from their own house.
Who cannot sponsor bills?
- President (can only ask a member to sponsor)
- Supreme Court Justices
How does a bill reach a committee?
First it must pass the House and Senate and finally be signed by the President
Then, members of Congress will need to sponsor the bills they support
After it receives enough sponsors, it will be placed into the hopper (which is where bills are introduced)
Eventually, it will reach a committee and it will be debated/changed and vote on the bill (rules committee will make the schedule for this)
After a bill is passed by the committee, what are the odds it passes?
about 80-90% , very high chance of success
Majority party is the ____ side, Minority party is the _____ side
left, right
Why is article 1 Section 8 of the constitution important?
The powers that Congress have and the powers the President shares with them are laid out in this article.
- coin money
- post office system
- writing rules of war
- US Navy and Army
- declaration of war
- elastic clause
According to lecture, what is the elastic clause
A clause within the United States Constitution that grants Congress the power to pass whatever laws are deemed “necessary and proper” to help Congress to carry out the enumerated powers.
What is the commerce clause?
The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power “To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.
(only congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce
Who used to do all the intrastate commerce?
State legislators but the Supreme court has ruled that all commerce is interstate commerce so congress has the power over that
What is the oldest institution in the United States government?
The US postal service (1785)
Which article and section talks about the power to create US post systems?
Article 1 Section 8
Presidential succession used to be a matter of ______ law. Now it is also a matter of the ___ amendment.
Presidential succession used to be a matter of congressional law. Now it is also a matter of the 25th amendment.
What is the presidential succession? What order?
vice president, speaker of the House of Representatives, president pro tempore of the Senate, and then the eligible heads of federal executive departments who form the president’s Cabinet.
When would the House speaker not be able to legally become president (if P and VP died) ?
If the House Speaker was not a US citizen by birth
What happens whenever an executive is in a crisis (domestic, military, international)?
There is an expansion of presidential power and some of that power recedes at the end of the crisis.
(like wave lines)
Which 2 positions in the Executive Office of the President are used to control the bureaucracy and the executive branch below?
The National Security Advisor
The office of Management and Budget Director
What is habeas corpus?
The right of habeas corpus protects a prisoner – it allows a prisoner to indicate that his or her constitutionally guaranteed rights to fair treatment in a trial have been infringed upon
What does the constitution say about Habeas Corpus? Where?
Article 1 section 9 says Habeas corpus cannot be suspended without having an emergency situation
What has not been made clear (in the constitution) about Habeas corpus?
It does not certify who is allowed to create a habeas corpus emergency
What are the 2 key budget agencies of the US?
- The presidents office of management and Budget (OMB)(inside the executive office)
- The Congressional budget office (CBO) (congress’s check and balance agency)
Of the 2 key budget agencies, which is more responsible?
The Congressional because the presidents office will estimate higher GDP growth rate which allow them to spend more money (whether or not we have it). On the other hand, the congressional budget office’s estimate is always almost accurate
What are the types of federal bureaucracies?
- Executive office of the President
- Cabinet level departments (state, treasury, defense, interior, justice)
- Independent Regulatory Commissions and Government Agencies (federal communications commission, security and exchange, interstate commerce, US postal, NASA)
Who created the cabinet?
Washington and congress created the first cabinet level agencies in 1789
What were the first 3 cabinet level agencies?
State, Treasury and War (war eventually split into army and navy)
Over time, which other departments were created (cabinet level agencies)
Department of housing, transportation, education etc..
does the constitution specify how members are removed from the cabinet?
no
Who invented the spoils system?
Andrew Jackson
What is the spoil system?
practice in which the political party winning an election rewards its campaign workers and other active supporters by appointment to government posts and by other favours.
What happened to the spoil system after Garfield’s death?
Since president James Garfield was murdered by a rejected office seeker, Congress had a lot of pressure to act and they decided to reform the civil service system and they passed the Pendleton act.
What does the Pendleton act say?
most positions within the federal government should be awarded on the basis of merit instead of political patronage.
Now, it is required to take exams, evaluations and other factors in order to be awarded a position
What is cabinet diversity?
At first, only white males were hired in the upper positions. This all changed when Franklin Roosevelt hired Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, as the first woman appointed to a US Cabinet (1933). Now, it is more common to have diversity among the members of the cabinet.
What is Reinventing Government (ReGo)?
It is a program created by the Clinton/Gore administration and they wanted to create a government that would require much less employees to make gov. smarter and efficient.
What is the outcome of ReGo?
It ended up cutting a lot of federal members off and having more agency requirements/responsibilities
Which constitutional article talks about the federal court system?
Article 3, only the supreme court is mentioned. The other two primary levels are not.
What is the order of the federal court system?
- Supreme court (highest power)
- Circuit Court: total of 13 circuits, 12 regional based on geography and 1 federal circuit
- District Court: are all over the US: 94 districts each with a Bankruptcy court plus. Also includes the US Court of international trade and US court of federal claims
California is the ___ circuit of the court of appeals
9th
What did the Chevron Deference case determine?
Courts allow administrative agencies to interpret their own laws unless the interpretation is unreasonable
Why would the decision in the Chevron Deference case be overturned?
Because the Supreme court is becoming more conservative and we don’t know if they will allow bureaucracies to make legislation instead of congress.
What is a trial court?
The original court that hear a case when it first comes out. both sides present evidence to show their version of what happened. Most of the evidence presented in the trial court comes from witnesses (people who answer questions relating to the case) and exhibits (items and documents connected to the case, such as pictures, clothes, weapons, papers, etc.).
What is an appeal court?
determine whether or not the law was applied correctly in the trial court. Appeals courts consist of three judges and do not use a jury.
Appeal courts apply to which court federal system?
Circuit
Trial courts apply to which court federal system?
District
What are amicus briefs?
AKA “friends of the court” briefs is an opportunity for someone that is not a party of the lawsuit/litigation, to provide their perspective to the court on the case. This gives the court an opportunity to see other sides of the issue that are not always presented
What is a writ of certiorari?
A petition asking the Supreme Court to take over and hear the case
In order to accept a case from a writ of certiorari, what is the process?
In order to accept a case 4/9 justices must vote
In order to grant a stay, 5/9 justices must vote
What is the problem with the politics involving supreme court appointments?
The presidents who choose supreme court justices go for the ones who support their party. Conservative president will choose conservative justices. Although this is how it is most of the time, it can be a problem because sometimes the justices may not be fully affiliated with the party.
What happened in the case of Griswold v Connecticut?
It is the 1965 case where Connecticut was trying to enforce a law banning the use of contraceptives. The supreme court ruled that they were not allowed to ban contraceptives because it dealt with privacy.
What happened in Roe V Wade?
The Supreme court decided that it should be legal for a women to get an abortion (14th amendment)
How are the Griswold and Roe cases similar?
The privacy statement that was established in Griswold also led to the decision of Roe v Wade. Both of these cases were determined based on ones right to privacy.
What happened in Hylton v United States?
In 1794, Congress enacted a tax of sixteen dollars on each carriage owned by an individual or business. Hylton viewed the law as a direct tax in violation of the constitutional requirement that taxes passed by Congress must be apportionedThe Court concluded that the carriage tax was not a direct tax and thus that the carriage tax did not violate the Article I, Section 2, and Article I, Section 9, requirements for the apportioning of direct taxes.
Hylton, Marbury, McCulloch and Gibbson are all an example of what?
Judicial review
What happen in Marbury v Madison?
Marbury was appointed Justice of Peace, but his commission was not delivered. Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to compel the new Secretary of State, James Madison, to deliver the documents. Since Madison refused to follow up his appointment, Marbury petitioned for a writ of mandamus. Though Marbury was entitled to it, the Court was unable to grant it because the Judiciary Act of 1789 (sec 13) conflicted with Article III Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution and was therefore null and void.
What did we achieve from Marbury v Madison?
Marshall established the principle of judicial review, i.e., the power to declare a law unconstitutional.
What happened in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland?
In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution to create the Second Bank of the United States and that the state of Maryland lacked the power to tax the Bank
What is the importance of Gibbons v Ogden?
Court decided only Congress had the authority to regulate interstate commerce not states
What happened in the Dred Scott supreme court case?
The majority held that “a negro, whose ancestors were imported into [the U.S.], and sold as slaves,” whether enslaved or free, could not be an American citizen and therefore did not have standing to sue in federal court.
Which supreme court case overturned the Dred Scott decision? Which doctrine did it adopt?
Plessy v. Ferguson, separate but equal
Which supreme court case struck down the separate but equal doctrine? Essentially overturning Plessy v. Ferguson?
Brown v Board of Education
Which two cases are seen as the origins of judicial review?
Hylton and Marbury, Because the power of judicial review can declare that laws and actions of local, state, or national government are invalid if they conflict with the Constitution. It also gives courts the power to declare an action of the executive or legislative branch to be unconstitutional.
What did FDR do as a result of the supreme court overthrowing his laws?
FDR then passes a law through the HOR that would add an additional member to the Supreme Court for every justice over the age of 65 (changing the number of justices from 9 to 16)
When are judges appointed?
The President has the power to appoint any judge as long as it is approved by the Senate. Also appointed if a judge suddenly resigns, dies etc. (a vacancy)
Are judges elected in California?
yes
What happens when judges are appointed due to a vacancy?
Although they were initially appointed, in the next election, all judges that were appointed have to get voted for by the people.
What happens with judges in the upper court (supreme and circuit)?
The elections are a bit different, the people are basically asked if they approve the judge “yes/no”
What happens with judges in the bottom level court (District)?
They are elected by the people as well but they are actually competitive elections
How many elected executive officers does CA have?
8, elected separately
What are the roles of the 8 members of CA’s executive branch?
Governor Lieutenant Governor Secretary of State Attorney General State Treasurer State Controller State Superintendent of Public Instruction Insurance Commissioner
What is judicial activism?
When a Supreme court interprets and makes the constitution what they want it to be
What is judicial restraint?
a belief that judges should limit the use of their power to strike down laws, or to declare them unfair or unconstitutional, unless there is a clear conflict with the Constitution. This concept relies heavily on the uniform adherence to case law, which encompasses decisions rendered by other judges on prior, similar cases.
What is the problem with judicial activism and liberal/conservatives?
Based on a judges’ stance, they may interpret laws accordingly to the party they associate with
What are iron triangles?
The iron triangle is a mutually beneficial, three-way relationship between Congress, government bureaucrats, and interest groups. Each group does some action that will help the other group, creating a lasting and unbreakable bond between the three.
What is the capture theory?
The notion that a government agency established to regulate an industry for the benefit of society acts instead for the benefit of the industry.
How do presidents avoid their appointees get “captured”?
centralization occurs when authority is taken out of the cabinet and placed into executive offices where members are in direct control and observation under the President.
What is politicization
In politicization, there is an attempt in ensuring that the members and presidential appointees are loyal. (the members are tied politically to the president)
Why were Independent regulatory commissions (IRC) created?
created to regulate TV, radio, internet
How do IRC work?
they have 5 year terms and the president appoints one person in his first year, then another person his 2nd year 3rd, 4th and you can only appoint the 5th if you are re-elected
According to the Tenure of office act, the president can only fire people under what circumstanes?
Only if the Congress confirms the decision the same way they appoint those members
Who initially vetoed the Tenure office act?
Andrew Johnson
How did Johnson violate the act?
He fired the Secretary of war and was impeached
What happened to the Tenure office act?
Eventually the Supreme court decided that a president should have the full power to fire members.
