Legislative Branch Flashcards
How do you qualify for the Senate?
- 30 years old
- Citizen for 9 years
- Live in the state they are representing
How do you qualify for the House?
- 25 years old
- Citizen for 7 years
- Live in the state and district they are representing
How large is the Senate?
100 people
How do we get the size of the Senate?
2 people per state - 50 states = 100 people
How large is the House?
435 people
How do we get the size of the House?
Proportionate to the population per state
What is a Continuous Body?
1/3 of the Senate is up for election every 2 years
What is the term length of the Senate?
6 years
What is the term length of the House?
2 years
Why is there different term lengths between the House and the Senate?
They are different because the Senate is state-centered, meaning that the policies that they enact have a larger, national impact so, they take longer. In the House, they have a lot more people, and they are more district-centered which means policies can be passed quicker, meaning they don’t need longer terms.
What is Expelling?
Voting out a senator via a 2/3 vote if they are unconstitutional.
What is Excluding?
Refusing to seat a newly-elected Senator w/ a majority vote
What is mandatory spending?
Spending that is dictated by law
What are examples of mandatory spending?
- Medicare
- Social Security
- Businesses
What is discretionary spending?
It is spending approved by Congress and the President during annual appropriations (must be approved by Congress every year)
What are examples of discretionary spending?
- Military
- agencies
- administrations
What is supplemental spending?
It is similar to discretionary spending but, it doesn’t come during annual appropriations due to and urgent situation.
What is an example of supplemental spending?
- Covid-19 recovery
What is the Power to Investigate?
Congress can inquire into any matter that falls within its scope of lawmaking authority.(Implied)
Which part of Congress can investigate?
Both
Why are these investigations held?
they are mainly to…
1. gather information on the framing of legislation
2. watch operations in the executive branch (Oversight function)
3. divert public attention to an issue
4. reveal unconstitutional activities of a group or person
5. Help promote the interest of another member of Congress
What is the Congressional Budget Office?
Handles taxes, spending, and other monetary matters.
What are the 3 agencies in the Legislative Branch?
- The Congressional Budget Office
- The Congressional Research Service
- The Government Accountability Office
What is the Congressional Research Service?
Provide members with information on any subject.
What is the Government Accountability Office?
Has authority to monitor the work of the Federal Government and report this to Congress.
What role does the Senate play in major appointments?
A major appointment by the President must be confirmed by the Senate with a majority vote.
What role does the Senate play in treaties?
A treaty must be consented to by a 2/3 vote in the Senate.
How does Congress propose amendments?
They can if 2/3 of each house votes in favor
How does the House play a role in Elections?
If no one receives a majority of votes in the Electoral College, each State’s house delegation much choose a candidate and whichever candidate has 26 states wins.
How does Congress play a role in war?
Congress has to declare war before the US fights.
How does the House of Rep. play a role in Impeachment?
The House of Rep can vote to oust the president from office if the president, vice president, or other civil official acts unconstitutional or breaks a law with a majority vote.
How does the Senate play a role in Impeachment?
The Senate convicts/ conducts a trial to determine if guilty. 2/3 of the Senate must vote in favor of conviction.
Party Caucus
Closed meeting of members for each party in each house.
Policy Committee
Executive committee for each party’s caucus
- Party’s top leadership
Floor Leaders(Majority and Minority)
Legislative Strategists (Both Houses)
- Push decisions of party’s caucus
Whips (Majority and Minority)
Assistants to the leaders (Both Houses)
- Talk to members and gather intel
- Report back stats
Sub-Committees
The subdivisions of committees. Target more specific areas.
House Rules Committees
Controls the Flow of Bills and sets conditions for its consideration
What is Step 1 in a Bill Becoming a Law in the House of Rep?
Proposal
a. Gain sponsors/support
b. Gets put into Hopper (box on clerks desk)
c. Clerk assigns the bill a number (Format: H.R#)
d. Speaker assigns the bill to a committee
What is Step 2 in a Bill Becoming a Law in the House of Rep?
Committees
a. After deliberation in subcommittee
b. Committees make 1 of 5 options
- Report Favorably (Pass it)
- Refuse to Report (pigeonhole/ dies in committee)
- Report Amended Bill (Put out tweaked bill)
- Report Unfavorably (Report but, don’t like)
- Report Committee bill (Bill with bigger changes)
What is Step 3 in a Bill Becoming a Law in the House of Rep?
Scheduling Floor Debates
a. Rules Committee schedules floor debate
- If don’t like the bill
- Not scheduled
- Schedule at a bad time
What is Step 4 in a Bill Becoming a Law in the House of Rep?
Floor Debate in House of Rep.
a. Debate the Bill
- Limitations in House
- No member can have floor for over an hour w/o unanimous consent
- Party Leaders decide how to allocate time
What is Step 5 in a Bill Becoming a Law in the House of Rep?
House of Rep. Vote
- Vote in favor or against
What are the Major Differences in the Process of a Bill Becoming a law in the House and Senate?
Senate is much less strict nor formal
- Only 1 calendar
- Unrestrained debate in Senate
- Any Senator can speak for as long as needed
- Talk about anything they want to
Senate has a “two-speech rule”
- A senator cannot speak more than twice on a question on the same legislative day (this can last forever is they go on recess instead of adjourned)
What is a filibuster?
It is a stalling tactic where a minority of senators delays Senate action by talking a lot but there are other methods such as, quorum calls, and other parliamentary maneuvers
What is Step 1 in a Bill Becoming a Law in the Senate?
Proposal
- Senator reads Bill 2x
- Clerk assigns Bill number
What is Step 2 in a Bill Becoming a Law in the Senate?
Committee
- 5 ways to report
What is Step 3 in a Bill Becoming a Law in the Senate?
Floor Debate
- Informal
- 2 speech rule
- Can’t take floor more than 2 twice
- No time limit
- Filibuster
-
What is Step 3 in a Bill Becoming a Law in the Senate?
Vote
What is the Cloture Rule?
Limits debate
- Must be enacted before debate with vote
- Many senators are hesitant to enact cloture
What happens if both chamber pass different versions of the same bill?
If they don’t compromise then…
- Sent to House-Senate Conference Committee
- Temporary Joint Committee
What is a pocket veto?
If Congress goes out of session within 10 days, if the president doesn’t sign, it dies.
