Final Exam Flashcards
House of Representatives
the number is based on the population and represents districts. They serve 2 year terms, there are 435 members
Senate
each state has 2 representatives that serve 2 yr terms. Popularly elected since 1913; each member reps the entire state
Three jobs of Congress
1) Legislate, 2) Represent the public, 3) Oversee the executive branch “oversight” of executive - part of checks and balances
Congressional district
an electoral constituency that elects a single member of Congress - based on population and census
Reapportionment
deciding how many votes each state gets; done after the census every 10 years to reallocate number of members of the House to reflect population movement
Malapportionment
if district populations are unequal - the goal is “one person, one vote”
Redistricting
redrawing house district lines so there is an equal number of people in each district
Gerrymandering
drawing districts to maximize the influence of a group or political party
Incumbency advantage
1)Name recognition - incumbents have it, challengers dont, 2) Money - incumbents have it, challengers don’t, 3) Political experience - most challengers have little/no experience - they aren’t good candidates (weak challengers), 4) Incumbents typically do what their constituents want - if they didn’t, we’d kick them out
Racial gerrymandering
drawing district lines to encourage election of racial/ethnic minorities
Minority-majority district
district in which minority groups make up a majority of the population
Descriptive representation
representative shares some characteristic (race, gender, ethnicity)
Substantive representation
representative shares opinions
Why we hate congress but like our MC
Congress doesn’t pass many laws; we see other members representing their district and think that they’re helping “special interests”
Congress moves slowly
MCs fight each other, so Congress looks petty, inefficient, and beholden to special interests
MCs tell us how bad Congress is (and they’re the only ones who protect us from Congress)
Presidents tell us how bad Congress is
Committee
a legislative sub-organization that handles a specific duty, has specialized knowledge
Subcommittee
A subdivision of committees that considers specified matters and reports back to the committee
How a bill becomes a law (big points)
- Members of the House of Senate draft, sponsor, and introduce bills for consideration by Congress.
- A committee is assigned to study the bill according to its subject matter. Sometimes they refer the bill to a subcommittee, which may request reports from government agencies, hold hearings to peak interest in it, mark up or revise the bill. The full committee may make a recommendation to pass or revise it, then relases it or puts it aside.
- The bill is returned to the full House or Senate for further debate and approval. Amendments can be proposed at this time.
- House and Senate members vote.
- Both chambers of Congress must approve the bill. Differences may be resolved, bargaining and negotiation.
- After both chambers approve, the bill goes to the President for signature/approval and becomes Public Law. If he refuses, it is a veto, and the bill may return to Congress for reconsideration. If the president does not act in 10 days, the bill automatically becomes law. If Congress adjourns during the 10 days after the bill goes to the President and he doesn’t sign it, it becomes a pocket veto.
- The Office of Federal Register assignes the Law a number and it becomes a codified law.
Agenda (committee chair controls)
they decide which bills will be acted on and which will not; if the committee chair doesn’t put a bill on the committee’s agenda to work on, it will almost certainly die
Rules committee
a legislative committee responsible for expediting the passage of bills considers all bills reported from policy and fiscal committees and determines whether, and in what order, to schedule their consideration on the floor of the House. The Rules Committee also reviews, adopts and schedules consideration of floor resolutions
Filibuster
senators delay or prevent action on a bill by engaging in unlimited debate
Nuclear option
a parliamentary procedure that allows the United States Senate to override the 60-vote rule to close debate, by a simple majority of 51 votes, rather than the two-thirds supermajority normally required to amend the rules.
Cloture
60 or more senators cut off debate
Conference committee
a parliamentary procedure that allows the United States Senate to override the 60-vote rule to close debate, by a simple majority of 51 votes, rather than the two-thirds supermajority normally required to amend the rules
Roles of the president (see book)
Chief Executive, commander in chief, head of state, chief diplomat, chief legislator, political party leader
Chief executive
implement policy, supervise the executive branch of government, prepare executive budget for submission to congress, and appoint and remove executive officials. The head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet
Commander in chief
of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States
