Legislature

Question 1

HOR Qualifications

Answer 1

• US citizen for 7 years
• at least 25 y/o when sworn in

Question 2

Senate Qualifications

Answer 2

• US citizen for 9 years
• at least 30 y/o when sworn in

Question 3

HOR General

Answer 3

• 2 year term
• popular direct election
• 435 representatives (one per congressional district)
• number of congressional districts based on state’s population
• stronger than Senate because shorter terms demand reps. to regularly answer demands and interests

Question 4

Senate General

Answer 4

• furthest from demands and scrutiny of constituents; longer terms and search for broader appeal cause Senate to be lower in partisanship
• Filibuster; Cloture

Question 5

US Term Limits v. Thornton

Answer 5

no term limits for either senators or representatives

Question 6

Federal Election Campaign Act

Answer 6

• created the Federal Election Commission (FEC)
• required candidates to disclose where money was coming from and where it was being spent
• limited individual contributions
• provided for public financing of presidential campaigns

Question 7

Bipartisan Campaign Reform/McCain-Feingold Act

Answer 7

limit the use of “soft money”
- “hard money” had heavy regulations while “soft money” had almost no regulations/limits
- placed limits on total contributions to political parties
- prohibited coordination between candidates/PAC campaigns

Question 8

Constituent Casework

Answer 8

constituents reaching out to congresspeople to work on complex problems. Congresspeople have access to more resources to solve these issues, and will publicize their involvement to boast their helpfulness

Question 9

Speaker of the House (General)

Answer 9

• elected by the entire HOR
• only house officer mentioned in the Constitution
• partisan leader of the MAJORITY party
• serves until their party loses majority, is voted out, or resigns
• does not have to be a member of the house

Question 10

Speaker of the House Powers

Answer 10

• assign bills to committees
• decide when a bill is presented to the floor for a vote
• creates select committees
• select a member for speaker pro tempore
• presides over joint sessions with Senate

Question 11

HOR Floor Leaders

Answer 11

HOR and Senate minority and majority leaders

Question 12

Whips

Answer 12

HOR leadership that “whips” up votes and enforces discipline

Question 13

Senate’s President

Answer 13

• VP of the US
• usually chooses a President Pro Tempore (usually the most senior senator of the majority party) to preside over the Senate
• largely a formal and powerless role
• votes on bills only to break a tie
• does not usually operate in the Senate

Question 14

Senate Majority & Minority Leaders

Answer 14

• a majority of power rests in these people
• Majority leader is chief spokesperson but does not run the floor alone
• both leaders work together to keep things going in case of filibusters
• majority leaders have the duties equal to the Speaker of the House

Question 15

Nuclear Option

Answer 15

(SENATE EXCLUSIVE) allows a simple majority to override a filibuster for certain nominations (federal judges, SCOTUS judges)
- makes confirmation easier - changes the number of votes from 60 to a simple majority (51)
- Increased partisanship
- sets a precedent
- speed and volume of judicial confirmations have increased
- only been used twice (2013 and 2017)