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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
What did sherrod brown say about health care and the trump tax plan
Healthcare- Dems are over promising, they talk to much but make no progress Tax plan- hurts small cities
26
What did sherrod brown say about Ralph northam
He should resign and become a private citizen. Needs to be held accountable for his actions
27
Describe sherrod Browns view on racism
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
28
What did sherrod brown say about Iowa people
Den rots problems is they are overlooking the working class
29
Describe sherrod Browns election
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
Who is mark Werner
Virginia senator democrat | Ranking majority member of senate intelligence committee
31
Describe shutdown situation surrounding mark Werner video
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
What does mark Werner say about trump tower Moscow deal
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
Why does mark Werner want Michael Cohen to come back and testify and how does he want the trump investigation to go
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
What did mark Werner say the public take away form the shutdown should be
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
What was the economic hit to the economy and how much was trump asking for in the mark Werner video
Hit- $7 billion | Asking- $5.7
36
What did mark Werner say we can't reward
Hostage taking on the salaries and jobs of Americans by the president
37
What makes a chart effective
One message clearly readable from the TV screen which gets attention
38
When did floor charts start being used
1900s
39
What is a humane isle
They hold the poster/chart for the congress person on the floor
40
How many charts did the 115th senate use total, each, and what was the cost
Over 1,000 charts total over 100 each Cost over $100,000
41
Give examples of floor charts
Ted Cruz- green eggs and ham in immigration Robwodall- meme of him discussing same topic for years Sherrod brown- manufacturing car v hamburger
42
Who is Ron Johnson
Republican senator form Wisconsin | Chairman of the homeland security committee
43
In Ron Johnson video why is president trump emergency not presidential over reach and is it actually an emergency
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
How many unaccompanied children came to the U.S. In 2014 according to Ron Johnson and how does it compare to this year
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
Did Ron Johnson think the emergency declaration was unconstitutional, why or why it
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
Why does Ron Johnson say the republican couldn't get wall funding passed the first two years
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
What does Ron Johnson say about NATO
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
Who is Kamala Harris and what was her scandal
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
What is a poison pill amendment
Amendment intended to sink the legislation, but looks attractive
50
Describe the make up of congress
Bicameral with the upper house being the senate and the lower house being the House of Representatives
51
What is the only state with a unicameral legislature
Nebraska
52
Are territories represented in congress
Not represented by a vote but do have a delegate
53
Which state has more women than men in their state legislature
Nevada
54
Who was the first openly bisexual person in congress
Katie hill, freshman
55
What is the purpose of a committee
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
What are the opposition tools of committees
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
What is being put in the hopper
When leaders decide certain bills will not go to the floor those bills are considered put in the hopper
58
What might happen if trump sued over national emergency
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
Who controls the fates of every bill
The majority party in both houses
60
On average how many ills are passed per session
758
61
The last congress produced how many bills out of how many proposed. How does this compare to tiger congresses
Passes 500/6845 | Lowest produced of any congress
62
What percent of bills are passed out of congress and what percent dies in committee
4% are passed 90% dies in committee Congress is more show than substance
63
What are the purposes for holding hearings
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
What does marked-up mean
Synonym for amending legislation / adding amendments to legislation
65
Which three politicians immediately spoke out about Jesse smollette
Kamala Harris Corey booker Kirsten gillebrand
66
What does Andrew McCain call trump ( from book Leonard read)
Assets of Russia
67
What does leonard say happen after the 1970's considering party focus
Democracy gave way to party discipline | More focus on party
68
What committees are represented in our simulation
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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