Executive Branch Flashcards
Legislative Branch at the Federal Level
Congress.
How many people are in congress and how are they elected?
- Selected by voters in each state
Where does Congress meet?
Capital building
Legislative Branch at State Level
Nevada Legislature
How many members make up the Nevada Legislature and how are they elected.
- Voters in districts
How are things determined in Congress?
By how long someone has been a member.
What does “has the floor” mean?
The person who is speaking
Constituency
Area that a member of legislature represents.
Ex.) Nevada congressman
Constituents
Voters in the area
Ex.) State of Nevada
Bicameral
Having two chambers:
The House of Representatives
The Senate
What were the results of the Connecticut Compromise?
- Each state has two senators
2. Each state’s number of House of Representatives is determined by state population
The representation models between House and Senate
Senate: States, with 6 year terms. 100 senators. Directly elected by voters statewide. 2 per state
House: Districts, with 2 year terms. Elected by districts. Poplulation determines number per state.
What chamber has more coorporation?
Senate
Which chamber is homogenous?
House. Ideal for organized interests claiming to represent constituents.
Which chamber is heterogenous?
Senate. Have to be generalists. More open to a wider array of interests
What is a delegate?
They vote according to preference of constituents. When coming up for re-election members of legislature tend to have a more delegate view.
What is a trustee?
A member of legislature that votes on member’s ideas of what is best for constituents. People who are newly electe to Congress tend to have a more trustee view.
Sociological Representation
When legislative members have same racial, gender, ethnic, religious, educational background or other characteristics as constituents. Based on principle that if two individual’s are similar, one can correctly represent the other’s view.
Agency representation
When a member is held accountable to constituency if he/she fails to represent that constituency properly
Does Congress Reflect the Country?
No
If Congress looks so different from the American population, can it represent the American people?
Probably through migrating factors. members seek to represent the interests of their constituents.
Who gets elected?
- Who decides to run.
- Incumbency Advantage
- Appointment and Redistricting Issues
Who decides to run?
Candidate must “self select” to run. Some are encouraged by parties more than others.
What are strong candidate qualities?
- Good name recognition
- Success in prior elected offices
- Ability to raise funds
- Willingness to campaign
- No significant negative “baggage”
What is the incumbency advantage?
Only about 10% of current members decide not to run for re-election. Members of Congress have an array of tools to keep them in office. These discourage others from running.
What are the tools to help keep members of Congress in office?
- Constituency services (Grandma on social security)
- Ranking privilege
- Name, recognition and title
- Pork-barrel spending for district (specific bills for specific districts)
- Ability to raise funds.
What are the implications of Incumbency advantage?
- Status quo of Congress changes very slowly
- Members tend to serve a long time
- Congress may “lag behind” the country as a whole
What is apportionment?
- Seats in House of Representatives fixed at 435
- Every 10 years congressional seats are reallocated among the 50 states based on their population
- Growth or decline in population can result in gain or lost in seats allocated to each state
* *Not a political decision
What is the zero-sum game?
For one state to gain a seat in the house, another must lose a seat.
What is redistricting?
States that gain or lose a seat must redraw their congressional districts. This is done by state legislatures in most states.
Typically drawn in a manner that benefits the party that has the majority in the state legislature at the time.
A highly political decision
What are the limitations on redistricting?
- Districts must be equal in population
- A state legislature must not be overzealous in favoring one party over another.
- Must not be done in a way that focuses on race
What is gerrymandering?
Redistricting in such a way as to give unfair advantage to one group or party over another. To prevent this most states want to give redistricting to non-partisan commission
What is pork-barrel spending?
Funding approved by a legislature for local projects that help incumbents win re-election. Also called “earmarks”
What does direct patronage consist of?
- Pork-barrel spending
- Patronage
- Constituent Services
- Private Bills
What is patronage?
Some locals and state elected officials have jobs to offer constituents
Who do private bills effect?
One person.
Ex. Citizen from another country doesn’t meet standards to become a citizen. Congressman can make a private bill, making individual a U.S. citizen
The organization of Congress
- Parties
- Committees
- Staff
- Caucuses
- Parliamentary rules
Congressional leadership
Speaker of the house is head of the house of representatives
Majority leader is head of the senate.
Who elects the speaker of the house?
Members of the majority party
What is the job of the whip?
Keeps members of party moving in the same direction
What is the President Pro Temp?
Senator that has been there the longest.
Who officially chairs the senate?
Vice president but only presides at ceremonial events to be a tie breaker.
Who usually chairs the senate?
President Pro Tempore, but often hands off to another member.
Where does the real power in the senate lie?
Majority Leader
Where is the real power in the House?
Speaker of the House
Committee System
- Standing committees
- Select Committees
- Joint committees
- Conference committees
Where does the real work of congress take place?
Committees.
Standing Committees
Permanent. Majority of legislation is written.
Select Committees
Formed temporarily to focus on a specific issue. They cannot present bills to the chamber and they bring attention to a specific subject.
Ex. 9/11
Joint Committees
Formed from members of both chambers . Gather information. Cover issues internal to congress
Conference Committees
For a bill to become a law, the same wording of a bill must be passed by both chambers. These committees are formed to write the final wording when both chambers pass similar bills that need to be reconciled
