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The Legislative System- PLS 3370 > Midterm > Flashcards

Midterm Flashcards

1
Q

List the powers congress has (5)

A
  1. ) raise and spend money
    - —16th amendment allows an income tax
  2. ) control the structures and duties of executive and judicial branch
  3. ) declare war
  4. ) make laws
  5. ) impeachment
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2
Q

List the limits on the powers of congress

A

1.) the bill of rights- limit government intervention in life

  1. ) cannot pass expo-facto laws
    - – no punishment or prosecution for a past crime that’s now a law because it wasn’t a law when the crime was committed
  2. ) no bills of attainder
    - – exists only in autocracy, is declaring somebody guilty without a trial
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3
Q

What is the process of impeachment

A

accusation and charges brought in the house which moves to a trail in the senate

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4
Q

What are the four reasons a person can be impeached

A
  1. ) treason
  2. ) bribery
  3. ) high crimes
  4. ) misdemeanors
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5
Q

Describing how congress was in the past

A

1.) used to have to filibuster and talk bills to death with nonsense, like reading a phone book

  1. ) legislating was a part time job. Politicians would work the farm/job and then take a short break and go to DC the. Return home to their regular job.
    - –kept closer contact with constituents, less time raising money
  2. ) seniority was very important. It was how committee positions and leadership was chosen
  3. ) parties had two wings, a conservative and liberal wing. The conservative democrats would work with the liberal republicans
  4. ) more democratic
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6
Q

Describe how congress is now

A
  1. ) when filibustering and on the floor they have to talk about real things because of the cameras and constant constituent audience
  2. ) legislating is a full time job. It’s a 3-4 day work with, it leaves time to go home to constituent but they must immediately comeback and most don’t go home. Usually their only job. They have less constituent contact and tend to see issues from a beltway point of view. (Large staff but more partisan gerrymandering-okay for politics, illegal for race)
  3. ) seniority is not very important, it is not how committees or leadership is chosen
  4. ) there are still wings to the parties but no ones the work together. A republican is either conservative or really conservative and a democrat is either moderate/liberal or really liberal
  5. ) Less democratic and driven by party discipline
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7
Q

List and describe the types of committees in congress

A
  1. ) standing committee- permanent committee in congress. ex.) agricultural, judiciary, taxation, budget
  2. ) subcommittees- another place to hear people out, where the legislation is drafted and amended
  3. ) select committee- temporary committee formed for a specific reason, once reason is accomplished it ends. Ex.) Banghazi, performance I hanging drugs in baseball,
  4. ) joint committees- comprised of house and senate members who investigate, provide oversight, and issue reports,
  5. ) conference committee- reconciles differences between differences in legislation in the house and senate. Try to find a compromise to piece legislation to together to send back to the house and senate . Very power, cans end never before heard pieces of legislation to the legislation Ex.) committee for trumps wall
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8
Q

What are the most popular committees

A

Any committee that can spend money
- use it to bring federal money back to their state to look good for real election

-ex.) appropriation committee

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9
Q

What is the least popular committee

A

Ethics
- they decide rather or not to kick out their brother and sisters in congress. Judging the ethics and actions of their colleagues, bad position bad vibes

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10
Q

Why is sending bills to committees important

A

Despite often spidering in committee it is still important to send bills because it give the possibility of being heard and allows to congress person to show their constituents they tried to get work done and it’s not their fault it died. Helps with re-election to look like you are trying to do stuff and help constituents

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11
Q

What guides a congress person when choosing a committee

A
  1. ) will it help them get re-elected
  2. ) will they have internal influence in congress
  3. ) opportunity to generate good public policy
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12
Q

What guides leadership in designating a committee

A
  1. ) how much does the congress person pay- how well do they raise money for the party
  2. ) party loyalty- how often does congress person vote with leadership
  3. ) geography- certain states get certain assignments to help party gain more favor in that state
  4. ) expertise- put people where they have knowledge, lawyer goes to judiciary, banker to finance
  5. ) gender- influx of women means more visibility and better appointments
  6. ) vulnerability in he next election- does the congress person need money for reelection that they can get form lobbyists who work with certain committees.
  7. ) senate republicans use seniority if two senators want to same seat on a committee.
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13
Q

What is the hastert rule

A

Dennis haster-old speaker and child molestor

Informal rule of congress

A majority of the majority party must support a bill before the speaker can let it be voted in on

-prevent parties form having to work together to pass legislation and discourages bipartisanship

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14
Q

What was the purpose of trumps declaration of emergency

A

Trump declared a national emergency so he could take money already budgeted ($8 billion) and passed by congress to go to the military to use in the project to build the wall.

A way to finance the wall by circumventing congressional approval

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15
Q

Brief history of declaration of emergency

A

Jimmy carter did the first in 1970’s (when legislation was born) to help a hostage crisis.

Designed to allow executive government to perform actions it is not normally permitted

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16
Q

How many declarations of emergencies have there been and were they controversial

A

58 declared emergencies, they were usually no controversial

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17
Q

What is the problem with the declaration of emergency law

A

Emergency is not defined in the law, there is just a general outline. A president can claim an emergency without a challenge

Creates a constitutional crisis- can the president rearrange money unilaterally decided by congress

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18
Q

What is the process to stop trumps declaration of emergency. Who counts votes

A

Congress can do a resolution of disapproval, must be passed in the house and senate and signed by president, if president doesn’t sign it can go back to the House and senate for a vote (need 2/3 to pass without president) but most won’t vote directly against their party president like that

Whips count the votes

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19
Q

What is the Johnson rule

A

1953 rule by president Johnson that says all senators will be assigned to one major committee before any senator will be assigned to two

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20
Q

Formal rules of congress

A
  1. ) no 2 senators form the same state can serve on the same committee
  2. ) Johnson rule- everybody get a major committee before anybody gets 2
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21
Q

Nancy peloton says the basis for impeachment must be

A
  1. ) overwhelming
  2. ) compelling
  3. ) no partisan

Impeachment will not be a political exercise

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22
Q

Informal rule of congress

A

Hasterts rule

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23
Q

Who does sherrod brown say face most challenges in work place and how

A

Women and people of color

Wages, benefits, schedules

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24
Q

Who does sherrod brown states and federal governments over look

A

Rural areas and small towns

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25
Q

What did sherrod brown say about health care and the trump tax plan

A

Healthcare- Dems are over promising, they talk to much but make no progress

Tax plan- hurts small cities

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26
Q

What did sherrod brown say about Ralph northam

A

He should resign and become a private citizen. Needs to be held accountable for his actions

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27
Q

Describe sherrod Browns view on racism

A

Country hasn’t dealt with our history with racism. President is racist and should have condemned Charlottesville. The voter suppression of blacks in Florida and Georgia

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28
Q

What did sherrod brown say about Iowa people

A

Den rots problems is they are overlooking the working class

29
Q

Describe sherrod Browns election

A

Ran in 88 counties, won 16, and won the race by 7 points. There was a large metro v rural division. Emasculated in rural areas

30
Q

Who is mark Werner

A

Virginia senator democrat

Ranking majority member of senate intelligence committee

31
Q

Describe shutdown situation surrounding mark Werner video

A

DACA dreamers get 3 years amnesty if he gets $5.7 billion for the wall

Pelvis says deal is a no go
Republicans say the Dems need to have a counter offer but Dems want to open govt before any negotiations

Can’t let trump have a successful shutdown because then he would just use it whenever he wants to get his way

32
Q

What does mark Werner say about trump tower Moscow deal

A

Republican nominee was actively trying to do business in Moscow with out means he’s in the hands of Putin and the voters should have known sooner.

American public needs answers

33
Q

Why does mark Werner want Michael Cohen to come back and testify and how does he want the trump investigation to go

A

His lies in their committee are what got him in trouble in the first place. They just want to hear the truth.

Wish trump investigation could be fast but wants it to be thorough more

34
Q

What did mark Werner say the public take away form the shutdown should be

A

800,000 workers are working, furloughed, or not getting paid. Hundreds of thousands of contractors aren’t getting paid and other business that rely on government. Negotiations needs to start with the re-opening of the government

35
Q

What was the economic hit to the economy and how much was trump asking for in the mark Werner video

A

Hit- $7 billion

Asking- $5.7

36
Q

What did mark Werner say we can’t reward

A

Hostage taking on the salaries and jobs of Americans by the president

37
Q

What makes a chart effective

A

One message clearly readable from the TV screen which gets attention

38
Q

When did floor charts start being used

A

1900s

39
Q

What is a humane isle

A

They hold the poster/chart for the congress person on the floor

40
Q

How many charts did the 115th senate use total, each, and what was the cost

A

Over 1,000 charts total
over 100 each
Cost over $100,000

41
Q

Give examples of floor charts

A

Ted Cruz- green eggs and ham in immigration

Robwodall- meme of him discussing same topic for years

Sherrod brown- manufacturing car v hamburger

42
Q

Who is Ron Johnson

A

Republican senator form Wisconsin

Chairman of the homeland security committee

43
Q

In Ron Johnson video why is president trump emergency not presidential over reach and is it actually an emergency

A

There’s a problem and we are concerned about an expansion of power, but the democrats just need to support and help the president fix the barrier .

We need to spend the budget for the fiscal year. Didn’t want to shutdown but maybe we can fix the other problems if we open

44
Q

How many unaccompanied children came to the U.S. In 2014 according to Ron Johnson and how does it compare to this year

A

120,000 in 2014- called humanitarian crisis

145,000 unaccompanied children or families this year and its on,y the first 4 months of the fiscal year

45
Q

Did Ron Johnson think the emergency declaration was unconstitutional, why or why it

A

No, thins, it’s just an expansion of presidential powers

Thinks he was given his power in the national emergency act, department of defense drug war,

46
Q

Why does Ron Johnson say the republican couldn’t get wall funding passed the first two years

A

Only have a majority in the senate and the Dems need to stop being hypocrites and support the bill and cooperate at the table

47
Q

What does Ron Johnson say about NATO

A

We value NATO, it’s crucial in keeping Europe whole, free, and peaceful and our NATO allies hear that support and shouldn’t be worried about trumps closeness with Putin

48
Q

Who is Kamala Harris and what was her scandal

A

Senator form California running for president, used to be San Francisco prosecuter and attorney general in California

Lab techs messed with evidence and she chose to drop a bunch of cases against criminals

49
Q

What is a poison pill amendment

A

Amendment intended to sink the legislation, but looks attractive

50
Q

Describe the make up of congress

A

Bicameral with the upper house being the senate and the lower house being the House of Representatives

51
Q

What is the only state with a unicameral legislature

A

Nebraska

52
Q

Are territories represented in congress

A

Not represented by a vote but do have a delegate

53
Q

Which state has more women than men in their state legislature

A

Nevada

54
Q

Who was the first openly bisexual person in congress

A

Katie hill, freshman

55
Q

What is the purpose of a committee

A

Give a member of congress a chance to share their specialty/expertise to give guidance and direction.

Serves as an outlet for debate, so that every issue does not come to the floor

56
Q

What are the opposition tools of committees

A
  1. ) can ask speaker permission to ask a question
  2. ) move to amend
  3. ) move to refer bill to committee- usually after an amendment so things can be changed and solidified
  4. ) move to table- bill is dead forever, nice politics to help everybody get away from something they do not want to deal with
57
Q

What is being put in the hopper

A

When leaders decide certain bills will not go to the floor those bills are considered put in the hopper

58
Q

What might happen if trump sued over national emergency

A

Law suit would probably go to the 9th circuit court of California (very liberal court, ACLU would choose to file in California to Gary teen this court.) court will say no and it will probably go to the Supreme Court - “constitutional crisi”

59
Q

Who controls the fates of every bill

A

The majority party in both houses

60
Q

On average how many ills are passed per session

A

758

61
Q

The last congress produced how many bills out of how many proposed. How does this compare to tiger congresses

A

Passes 500/6845

Lowest produced of any congress

62
Q

What percent of bills are passed out of congress and what percent dies in committee

A

4% are passed
90% dies in committee

Congress is more show than substance

63
Q

What are the purposes for holding hearings

A
  1. ) explore the need for legislation
  2. ) build support from the public
  3. ) publicize the chairman
  4. ) provide forum for grievances with legislation
  5. ) educate committee members
  6. ) elevate visibility of sponsors, chairs, minority members, and the committee
64
Q

What does marked-up mean

A

Synonym for amending legislation / adding amendments to legislation

65
Q

Which three politicians immediately spoke out about Jesse smollette

A

Kamala Harris
Corey booker
Kirsten gillebrand

66
Q

What does Andrew McCain call trump ( from book Leonard read)

A

Assets of Russia

67
Q

What does leonard say happen after the 1970’s considering party focus

A

Democracy gave way to party discipline

More focus on party

68
Q

What committees are represented in our simulation

A
  1. ) health and welfare
  2. ) judiciary
  3. ) environment
  4. ) foreign relations
  5. ) social justice

The Legislative System- PLS 3370 (1 decks)

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