Oversight

Question 1

What is ‘oversight’?

Answer 1

Congress’s monitoring of the activity of the executive branch of government

Question 2

How is the power of ‘oversight’ maintained?

Answer 2

separation and high levels of checks and balances in the constitution puts Congress in a strong position to scrutinise or limit the actions of the executive branch

Question 3

How does Congress carry out its oversight function?

Answer 3

• standing committee hearings
• subpoena of documents and testimony

Question 4

How does the Senate specifically carry out its oversight function?

Answer 4

• Senate’s power to confirm appointments
• Senate’s power to ratify treaties

Question 5

What is the main way oversight is exercised?

Answer 5

through the use of committees

Question 6

What are the four most important types of committees?

Answer 6

1. standing committees
2. house rules committee
3. conference committees
4. select committees

Question 7

What are the general functions of committees?

Answer 7

• policy based
• conduct oversight based on policy expertise
• typically investigate a department
• hold hearings for executive members

Question 8

What is a standing committee?

Answer 8

• a permanent, policy specialist committee of Congress (both House and Senate)
• playing key roles in both legislation and investigation

Question 9

What are the functions of standing committees?

Answer 9

• conducting the committee stage of bills
• conducting investigations
• beginning the process of confirming appointments (senate only)

Question 10

Describe the role of committees in the committee stage of bills.

Answer 10

• scrutinise bills in their particular policy area
• hold hearings on the bill
• call witnesses to give evidence at their hearings
• have full power of amendment

Question 11

Describe the role of committees in conducting investigations.

Answer 11

• investigate issues within their particular policy area
• investigate perceived problems, crises, policy failures
• oversee relevant executive departments and agencies
• call witnesses to appear at hearings
• can be high profile and influential

Question 12

How do the role of committees differ in the Senate compared to House?

Answer 12

in the senate only committees will begin confirmation process

Question 13

Describe the role of committees in beginning the process of confirming appointments

Answer 13

• hold hearings on executive branch appointments made by the president within their particular policy area
• vote on whether or not to recommend the full senate to confirm a nominee

Question 14

What is the role of the Senate Judiciary Committee?

Answer 14

considers all presidential nominations to the federal judiciary

Question 15

What is the role of the House Rules Committee?

Answer 15

• one of the standing committees in the House
• responsible for prioritising bills coming from the committee stage on to the floor of the house for their debate and votes

Question 16

How is the House Rules Committee extremely influential?

Answer 16

• said to be the ‘legislative gate keeper’ of the House
• gives a ‘rule’ to a bill setting out the rules of debate stating whether or not further amendments are permitted

Question 17

What are the features of conference committees?

Answer 17

• ad hoc (temporary)
• made up of members from both chambers

Question 18

What are the functions of conference committees?

Answer 18

• set up to reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of a bill
• need to make compromises agreeable to a majority of both houses

Question 19

What are conference committees important?

Answer 19

often will draw up the final version of the bill - but their compromise version must be passed by a majority vote in both houses

Question 20

What are select committees also known as?

Answer 20

‘special’ or ‘investigative’ committees

Question 21

When are select committees used?

Answer 21

when an investigation does not fall within the policy area of one standing committee or when the investigation is likely to be particularly time consuming

Question 22

What is the importance of select committees?

Answer 22

conduct high profile and often long running investigations

Question 23

What is the importance of standing committees?

Answer 23

• regarded as policy specialists
• conduct the committee stage of a bill
• conduct high profile investigations

Question 24

What is the importance of standing committees in the Senate only?

Answer 24

begins the confirmation process of numerous presidential nominations

Question 25

How does Congress check on the President?

Answer 25

• vote against laws initiated or supported by the president
• determine funding for presidential projects
• overturn presidential veto
• impeachment and removal of members of executive branch

Question 26

How might the effectiveness of congressional checks be limited?

Answer 26

• congress may be restricted by the extent of presidential power
• congress may be unable to provide checks on the president where the president makes use of certain presdiential powers

Question 27

What theory suggests the president may have more power than congress?

Answer 27

theory of imperial presidency - suggests the president has a number of tools to bypass checks by Congress

Question 28

Give an example of the way in which Congress is limited by the President

Answer 28

use of executive orders
- Congress criticised Obama for his many executive orders on gun control, immigration, federal pay
- Trump was criticised for the high number of executive orders he issued in his first weeks in office making it difficult for Congress to examine the implications of each one

Question 29

What are Congress’s checks on the SC?

Answer 29

• overturn a decision
• impeach or remove individual judges