legislative branch Flashcards
bicameral legislature
legislature composed of two chambers, the house of rep and senate
benifits of bicameral legislature
doubles security to the people
house of representatives def
directly elected by the eligible ovters in distroicts who are close to the poeple
how long are house of rep terms
2
requirements to be in the house of rep
25 years of age, a resident of his state and must be a us citizen for 7 years
senate def
senators are more insulated from the public, add stability to the legislative branch
how long are senators terms
6 years, 1/3 of them are up for reelection every 2 years
requirements to be senator
30 years old, us citizen for 9 years
what amendment replaced the inderect election of senators by state legislatures with direct popular election by a states eligible voters
17th amendment
what is congress responsible for
writing the laws of the nation
the us constitution requires that house representatives must
represent single member districts with approx EQUAL numbers of constitutes
what must the government do every ten years to make sure house reps represent member districts with equal numbers
take a census to count the population to determine the number of each states congressional districts. each state must redraw their boundaries to ensure each district is in equal population
gerrymandering
drawing congressional districts to favor one political party or group over another
what is a bicameral legislature
a 2 house legistalature
one man one vote
Tennessee had not redrawn its legislation map since 1900s. in Baker vs carr the court ruled that tennessee had violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment
what amendment did tenneswee legislature violate in backer vs carr
14th amendment- equal protection clause
shaw vs reno
supreme court overturned the race conscious drawing of strangely shaped i-85 district
incumbency effect
tendancy of those already holding office to win reelection
the incumbency effect tends to be stronger for
members of house of rep
the incumbency effect tends to be weaker for
members of the senate
advantages of the incumbency effect
have recognition
credit claiming
casework for constitution
more visibility to contitutes
have more recognition
voters are more likely to recognize the office holder rather than the challenger
credit claiming
the officeholder may have brought government projects and money into the state or district
casework for constitutes
officeholders may have helped constitutes solve problems involving government and the bureaucracy
more visibility to constitutes
constitute members cabn use the perks of the office to communicate with constitutes
def of franking
the privelage of sending official mail using the incumbents signature as postage to provide communication with constitutes
who controls the leadership positions of congress
majority political party in each house
speaker of the house of congress
thwe presding officer and most powerful member of the house
duties of the speaker of the house of congress
assigning bills to committees, controlling floor debate, and appointing party members to committees
majority leader of congress
serves as the major assistant to the speaker, helps plan the partys legislative program and directs floor deabtes
minority leader of congress
major spokesperson for the minority party and organizes opposition to the majority party
how do whips help floor leaders in congress
by directing party members in voting, informing members of impeding voting, keeping track of vote counts, and pressuring members to vote with the party
who is the presiding officer of the senate
us vice president- may not debate and only votes to break a tie
president pro tempore
senior member of the majority party chosen to preside in the absence of the senate president- lacks real power
majority floor leader of the senate
most influential member of the senate and often the majority partyspokes person
minority floor leader of the senate
major spokesperson for the minority party and organizes opposition to the majority party
why was the committe system created
to divide the workload of complex issues in legislation
standing commitees
most of the work is done in these types. permanent and divided by policy area.
standing committees are divided into
subcommittees that specialize even further in complex issues
joint committees
contain members of both house and senate. they help party leaders by speeding things along in the legislative process
select/special committees
temporary body called upon to investigate an issue in response to a crisis or scandal
conference committee
joint committee that resolves differences between the house and senate versions of a bill
house rules committee
controls who speaks and how legislation proceeds on the floor of the house of representatives. serves as a traffic cop for legislation
the house ways and means committee
cheif of tax writing in the house of represenatives
appropriations committee
deals with spending bills,appropriations are the one type of legislation that goes to the floor of the house without the possibility of amendments
what are the two most exclusive commitees where people can only serve for one at a time
the appropriations com, and the ways and means commitee
foreign relation relations committee
deals with foreign policy, including the approval of treaties and appointments of ambassadors
senate judiciary committee
makes a recommendation regarding presidential judicial appointments. they are involved with the vetting of potential judges including supreme court nominees
caucuses
informal groups formed by congress who share a common set of goals
legislative powers
power to make laws
5 types of legislative powers
expressed powers
implied powers
neccessary and proper powers
limitations on powers
expressed powers
power granted to congress in article 1 section 8 of constitution
implied powers
powers reasonaply suggested to carry out the expressed powers in article 1 section 8 clause 18
limitations on powers
powers denied by congress in article 1 section 9
non legislative powers
duties other than lawmaking
5 non legislatibve powers
electoral powers
amendment powers
impeachment powers
executive powers of the senate
investigative powers
amendment powers
congress may propose amendments
impeachment powers
house may bring charges or impeach the president or vice president
executive powers of the senate
senate shares the appointment and treaty making powers with the executive branch
electoral powers
selection of the president by the house of representatives upon the failure of the electoral college to receive majority vote
investigatove powers
investigate matters falling within the range of its legislative authority
what presidents where impeached
andrew johnson, donald trump, bill clinton
what house has the power to filibuster
senate
cloture
only way of stopping a filibuster, 60 senators must vote to stopn the filibuster
after debating blls usually end up passing the house and senate in ________ forms
different
what commitee is called upon to finalize the bills and in identical form in both the house and the senate
conference com
after being passed in identical form through both house and senate a bill is then sent to
the president
the president has three choices when it comes to bills
1) sign the bill to make it a law
2) veto the bill and forbid it from passing
3)do nothing and the bill becomes a law after 10 days
pocket veto
if congressional session ends befoire the ten day limit and the president does not sign the bill, the bill dies
legislative tactics
strategies used to attempt to block legislation
filibuster
unlimited debate in an attempt to stall action on a bill
cloture
how senators stop a fillibuster 60 senators must vote to stop it
lobbying
trying to influsence members of congress to support or reject legislation
conference comm
may affect the wording and therefore thr final intent of legislation
special commitee
temporary body called upon to investigatw a current event or issue
standing commitee
permanent commitee where most of the important work is done
3 most important commitees
house of ways and means, appropriations committess, house of rules
the great comprimise
Benjamin Franklin agreed that each state should have an equal vote in the Senate in all matters
who is the most powerful member of the house of representatives
the speaker of the house
who is the mostpowerful member of the senate
majority floor leader
which house does the house rules commitee operate in
the house of representatives
which house confirms supreme court leaders and can bring forth articles of impeachment
house of representaties
what 2 supremee court cases delt with gerrymandering
baker vs carr
shaw vs reno
all bills exept _______ can be brought up in either the house or the senate
revenue bills
what part of the constitution deals with expressed and implied poiwers
article 1
