P3 - Congress Flashcards
What has happened to the number of women in congress
in 111th (2009-2011), 76 in House and 17 in Senate in 117th (2021-present), 118 House and 24 Senate
what has happened to the number of AAs in Congress
in 111th (2009-2011), 41 in House and 1 in Senate in 117th (2021-present), 55 in House and 3 in Senate
what has happened to the number of Hispanics in Congress
in 111th (2009-2011), 28 in House and 1 in Senate in 117th (2021-present), 45 in House and 5 in Senate
who was the longest-serving House Rep
John Dingell (Democrat) for 59 years and 21 days as a House Rep from Michigan
what has happened to the average age of Congress
111th Congress it was 57.2 in House and 63.1 in Senate
115th Congress it was 57.8 in House and 61.8 in Senate
what does the number of House Reps depend on
state population
what are the factors around house reps
there are 435 voting members, they serve two-year terms, and they have constitutional requirements (25 years old, a citizen of the USA for 7 years)
who are the constitutional requirements of the Senate
30 years old, citizen for 9 years.
when was the Senate made an elected chamber
1913 by the 17th amendment
What are concurrent powers
powers shared by both the House and the Senate
what legislative power is concurrent
they both passed legislation
what types of legislation must pass through both houses
the budget and the veto override, and both chambers have equal power in terms of passing legislation
what concurrent power can be used against the President
the veto override.
what has to happen for a veto override to pass in the House and the Senate
290 in the House and 67 in the Senate (two thirds)
what foreign policy power is concurrent
declaring war
how does Congress declare war
both Houses must be in agreement for the USA to declare war. This power has been used 11 times since 1789, lastly in 1941 for the Second World War
what has to happen for constitutional amendments to pass in Congress
two-thirds of both Houses must agree to a constitutional amendment before it can be put to the states for ratification. Of around 11,000 proposed, only 33 have passed this hurdle.
which individual is elected via concurrent power
confirming a new vice president
what happens if the office of the vice president becomes vacant
a majority vote in the House and the Senate is needed to approve a new VP
what is congress’ most important power
legislating
What are the three exclusive powers of the House of Reps
initiate money bills, sole power to bring cases of impeachment, elect the president if the Electoral College is deadlocked.
what is the process of money bills
bills must be approved by both Houses, but only the House can initiate it as representatives of the taxpayers
when has the House of Reps chosen the President
in two elections, 1800 and 1824
What does the House of Reps do in terms of impeachment
the House brought charges of ‘perjury’ and ‘obstruction of justice’ against Bill Clinton in 1998. They have only brought proceedings against three presidents.
what are the exclusive powers of the Senate
Confirm presidential appointments, ratify treaties, try cases of impeachment and elect VP if the Electoral College is deadlocked
what do the presidential appointments include
the confirmation of judicial nominees, cabinet appointments and ambassadors
what is the process of ratifying treaties
treaties must be ratified by a two thirds (67) vote in the Senate
What does the SEnate do in terms of impeachment
the senate requires a two thirds (67) vote to convict and remove a president. They acquitted Bill Clinton of both charges in 1998
what does the Senate do in terms of VP
they elect the VP if the EC is deadlocked. In two elections, 1800 and 1824, the Senate chose the VP
what is the synoptic link of the powers within Congress
while the two Houses of US Congress are largely equal, with a few exclusive powers, the UK Houses of Parliament are quite different, with the House of Commons being superior through the Salisbury Convention
what was the incumbency rate in 2020
93%
what are the reasons for incumbent advantage
- name recognition (leading to interest group campaign money)
- legislative record allowing the incumbent to demonstrate the gains for the constituency
- gerrymandering
what can midterms be seen as
a referendum on how well the president is doing and have a much lower turnout than elections in a presidential years
how does someone become a COngressional politician
a candidate must first win a primary to become the Democratic or Republican candidate for a seat, and then win the seat on election day under FPTP
what four factors affect voting in congress
constituency, party and partisanship, congressional caucuses, pressure groups and lobbyists
what is the introduction phase
where a bill can go through the House consecutively or concurrently
what is the committee process
there are subcommittee hearings and mark-ups.
what can committee chairs do to legislation
they can kill it by pigeonholing, which is leaving it untouched
who timetables in the House
the house rules committee, which is dominated 2-to-1 by the majority party.
who timetables in the Senate
the majority leader, so it is dominated by the majority party
what is required in the house at the second reading and vote
a simple majority is all that is required
what is required in the Senate second reading and vote
a simple majority is all that is required. However, a filibuster can prevent this in the Senate.
what is the required at the third reading and vote in the house
a simple majority is all that is required
what is required at the third reading and vote in the senate
a simple majority is all that is required. However, a filibuster can prevent this
what is the conference committee
the conference committee is made up of an equal number of House and Senate members who reconcile the bills, which then need agreement from both Houses
what can the president do in terms of legislation
the president can sign, veto or leave the bill on his desk for ten days. A two-thirds majority in both Houses can override any presidential veto
what is the strength of the legislative process
- high level of scrutiny
- protects states’ rights
- prevents a tyranny of the majority
- with unanimous consent in the Senate, bipartisanship is required
what are the weaknesses of the legislative process
- incredibly slow
- lack of bipartisanship leading to gridlock
- congressional politicians often choose to focus on re-election over legislation
how many pieces of legislation were enacted in the 116th Congress (2019-2021)
344 pieces
how many pieces of legislation were enacted in the 95th Congress (1977 - October 1978)
804 pieces
What was the earmarking in Sparta NC
Congress set aside $500,000 in federal funding for the constitution of a very unique museum, in a town that had a population of about 18,000 (Sparta Teapot Museum of Craft and Design)
who secured the funding for Sparta NC
Rep Virginia Foxx with help from Sen Richard Burr, both Republicans from North Carolina. Foxx called the project a form of economic development that would benefit the state.
How much has earmarking cost taxpayers since it was reallowed
$9.3 billion
What has Garrett Groves (Rep Sen from Louisana)
he has forced 11 earmarks costing over a billion dollars
What oversight can be carried out by Congress over members of the executive
impeachment and removal of members of the executive branch (e.g the attempted impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998)
what oversight can be carried out by Congress over the actions of the executive
they can investigate the executive’s actions (the Russia investigation
what emerged following President Trump’s election in 2016
allegations surfaced about Russian interference in the US election. Russian confirmation of meeting with members of the Trump campaign, and Trump’s unexpected firing of FBI director James Comey, led to a number of investigations being launched into potential Russian interference in US elections.
who carried out an investigation into the US election
the House intelligence committee
Senate intelligence committee
House oversight committee
senate judiciary committee
what did Comey say about the interference
there should be no fuzz on this whatsoever: the Russians interfered in our election
what does Congressional oversight depend on
- whether the House, Senate and presidency are presided over by the same party or not
- when the next election is
- which branch has the most recent mandate
- the poll ratings and popularity of the president
national circumstances
How can Congress oversee the activities of the SC
- the ratification of judicial nominees, following hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee
- the creation of lower courts
- justices can be impeached if they do not act in line with their constitutional requirement
- Congress determines the number of justices n the court
- Congress can initiate a constitutional amendment to overturn an SC ruling
is Congress descriptively representative
no
what per cent of America is female
50.8%
what per cent of America is AA
12.1%
what per cent of America is Hispanic
16.7%
what per cent of US society has a bachelor’s degree
32%
what per cent of Congress has a bachelor’s degree
97%
who does Congress represent
districts/states individual constituents their party congressional caucuses interest groups descriptive representation
how is the House effectively representative
- shorter election cycle makes House members more responsive to constituents
- Congressional politicians represent smaller numbers of people (usually)
- party discipline is stronger in the House than in the Senate
- As reps are based on population, more populous states can be better represented
how is the Senate effectively representative
- senators represent the view of the whole state, not minor districts
- unanimous consent allows individual senators to be powerful in representing their state
- unanimous consent also makes party discipline weaker so Senators can represent their state better
- Six-year terms mean they can ‘get on with the business of government’
what is the synoptic link between representation
the comparison of the two US Houses can be extended to a comparison of the UK’s House of Commons and House of Lords
how has Congress’ power of war changed
development in weapons and technology mean wars are no longer fought or launched in the same way. Authorisations for the use of military force are more common than a formal ‘declaration of war’
how has the passing of the budget changed
due to increased bipartisanship in Congress, arguments over the budget are so frequent now that continuing resolutions have become more commonplace
how passing legislation changed
a lack of bipartisanship has led to record low production of legislation, a power being usurped by some presidents through executive orders. A decrease in legislative output and a focus on the president as the head of government rather than a SOPs.
what is an example of Congress being reactive
stripping abortion out of Obamacare or refusing to ratify the appointment of Merrick Garland to the SC
how have parties become more important
- increased partisanship is clear, and has led to a fall in legislative output, and even gov shutdowns
- differing parties control the presidency and Congress
- they control significant appointments and roles, especially in the House
How can it be seen that parties are not important anymore
- parties are ‘broad churches’ - liberals and conservatives exist within both parties
- party discipline is weak due to state loyalties
- unanimous consent gives individual senators greater individual power
how has the power of investigations been successful in oversight
congress can investigate any aspect of the executive branch and highlight problems that need correcting
how has the power of investigations been weak oversight
investigations end in recommendations and Congress cannot bring criminal proceedings, meaning it can only apply pressure
how has the ratifying of justices led to weak oversight
the senate is reactive in this power and can only act once the president has nominated someone; they cannot continually reject nominees otherwise they look partisan
how has ratifying justices led to strong oversight
as the senate must approve nominees, they are usually thoroughly vetted, meaning the Senate should not have to reject nominees often, although they still can and do
how has electing the president been seen as effective oversight
the house has successfully exercised this power in 1800 and 1824
how has electing the president been seen as weak oversight
this is largely a defunct power, but one that remains ‘just in case’
how have ratifying treaties led to effective oversight
the senate has ratified (e.g START treaty, 2010) and rejected treaties (e.g Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2012)
how has ratifying treaties led to weak oversight
the president can manoeuvre around this power by not using the phrase ‘treaty’, as Obama did with the Iran Deal
how has impeachment been seen as effective oversight
while impeachment is rarely used, it is an effective threat and Congress has shown it is willing to use this power
how has impeachment been seen as weak oversight
in all three full cases, the president was found ‘not guilty. Failure to successfully impeach makes it a weaker power
how has the declaration of war been seen as effective oversight
Congress has used this power 11 times (though not since the Second World War) and authorises presidential military action
how has the declaration of war been seen as weak oversight
congress arguably has little choice in authorising the action, especially if their constituents favour action, such as after 9/11
how can legislation be seen as effective
legislation is well scrutinised through a lengthy process
with the increased likelihood of divided government, it reduces the tyranny of over branch
how can legislation be seen as weak
there is a lack of legislative output by Congress
It is difficult to overturn a president’s veto
the likelihood of presidential bills passing is largely unhindered
what circumstances affect if legislation is effective
the timing of the next election, poll ratings and national events
what is the importance of committees in the US
- they have immense power over whether bills should go through
- creates policy experts
- they are representative
- iron triangles, lobbyists, pressure groups can influence them heavily
what were the healthcare.gov hearings
healthcare.gov was meant to be an online marketplace where people could compare insurance plans and see the subsidies available to them. It was useless and wasted approx $300m of public money. Kathleen Sibelius was investigated as part of this. Committees question some of the contractors who built the website.
