Politics Paper 3 evidence bank Flashcards
Vagueness of the US constitution:
1) The ‘Necessary and Proper’ clause, allowing congress for additional implied powers
2) SCOTUS being able to protect rights through their rulings, ‘informal amendments’ and judicial activism’
3) expansion of the powers of the President (e.g recess appointments and military use)
Vagueness of the US constitution: specific examples
1) SCOTUS rights protection: e.g Windsor vs US 2014, Obergefell vs Hodges 2015 in ruling against DOMA and ensuring gay marriage under the 14th amendment
2) power of president (MILITARY): Obama was able to deploy troops in 2014 to engage in air strikes and other military action against ISIS in Syria and Iraq with no specific authorisation from Congress- justified it with the 2001 Authorization for the US military force, make international agreements (exec agreements) without seeking senate approval e.g the 2015 Paris Agreement (international treaty on climate change)
3) power of the president (DOMESTIC): George W Bush made 171 recess appointment, in 2020 Trump threatened to adjourn Congress and make recess appointments
Federalism: George W Bush
- No Child Left Behind- federal regulation in state issue, supported standards based education reform so that not child was left behind
- Medicare- expanded at the cost of $400 billion- 25 house reps voted against it
- HomeLand security and defence spending rose from $290 billion to $651 billion
$700 billion Wall Street ‘bailout’
USA Patriot Act 2001- expanded the rights of federal of government to detain people and collect -information about them
Federalism: Obama
- Signed a stimulus package of $246 billion in 2009- money went directly to the states
- National Federation of independent businesses V Sebelius- case brought to court by republicans and the tea party movement- struck down some aspects of Obama care for coreion of states by federal government , did however uphold most of the ACXA and the principal of federal control over healthcare
DACA (deferred action for childhood arrivals) 2012 and DAPA (deferred action for parents of americans) 2014 were both seen by republicans as federal overstretch- struck down in part by United States V Texas 2016
-Cole Memo- Justice department said it would not enforce federal restrictions on marijuana where states had it legalised except in circumstances where firearms were involved
Federalism: Trump
Extensive use of executive orders can be seen as expanding federal power
16 states filed lawsuits to stop the building of the ‘wall’- upheld in district court due to executive overreach
Rescinded the Cole Memo
Executive order stripped federal grants from ‘sanctuary cities’- later found unconstitutional
Carpenter V United States 2018- SC found that the federal government must obtain a warrant for a citizens cell phone location records
Federalism: Biden
Signed the American Action plan worth $1.9 trillion in 2021- later found unconstitutional
One off the direct payment of $1,400 to most Americans earning under $75,000
Increased tax breaks for parents
$350 billion to help state and local governments
$130 billion to help reopen schools
$49 billion for Covid testing
$14 billion for vaccines
American action plan was quite popular despite 0 republican support in congress- polls suggested that 70% of Americans supported the bill and in 2022 mid terms the democrat vote held up well
Bi-partisan Safer Communities Act 2022- first federal gun control bill for over 30 years- those under 21 to undergo enhanced background checks, closed the ‘boyfriend’ loophole (the boyfriend loophole is a gap in american gun legislation which allows physically abusive ex-romantic partners and stalkers with previous convictions or restraining orders to access guns)
Membership of Congress:
- Each house members represents 750,000 Americans currently, whilst at the time of the 1911 Apportionment Act which set the number of the House Representatives was only 215,000
- California has 53 house representatives with a population of 40 million
The 118th Congress is the most racially and ethnically diverse in history. Overall, 133 lawmakers identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian American, American Indian, Alaska Native or multiracial.
- Currently 153 women in the national legislature, accounting for 28% of all members
- Record 128 women are currently serving in the House, making up 29% of the chamber’s membership, in the senate 25 women are currently serving
Incumbency: (congressional)
- 2016- average campaign cost of winning a senate seat was $10.4 million
- The campaign cost of winning a seat in the house is over $1 million
- In the 2016- incumbents in the senate raised over 8 times more than the average challenger
- In 2012 Congress spent $24.8 million of franking costs
- In the 115th (2017-2019) congress the incumbency rate: in the house of representatives it was 97% and in the senate it was 93%
Concurrent Powers of Congress:
1/12 of Obama’s vetoes were overridden- Obama attempted to veto the 9/11 victims bill (compensation payments to victims and family) but due to bipartisan cooperation they were able to override the veto
All but 1 of Bush’s vetoes came after he had lost control of both houses
Obama had to issue an executive order to ensure abortion would not be funded with federal money in order to allow his plan for Obamacare to pass in congress
In the 116th Congress (2019-2021)- 2% of bills were enacted
Congress has not declared war since 1941
Power to subpoena witnesses and launch investigation- 2017 4 congressional committees investigated the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election
Exclusive powers of the House of Representatives:
Power of the purse- 2018 Trump requested that the budget for the EPA (environmental protection agency) be cut by ⅓ however the house republicans cut it by only 6%
Bring charges of impeachment e.g against Trump, Biden, Nixon
To choose the president if electoral college is deadlocked
Exclusive Powers of the Senate:
rejecting or confirming ratification of treaties: 2012 rejected the UN convention of the rights of persons with disabilities because the conservative republicans argued it threatened US sovereignty
Confirm appointments- 2017 senate rejected to hear nomination of Merick Garland, carried out highly political and personal hearings for controversial candidates such as Clarence Thomas- confirmed despite controversies surrounding his stance on abortion
The legislative process:
¼ bills make it out of the committee stage
only 1% of bills pass into law
Only 7% or less of bills will be voted on and 90% die in the committee stage
In 2018 the house rules committee set a record of the most amount of closed rule debates during a single congress- 83
1957- Strom Thurmond filibustered for 24 hours in opposition to the Civil Rights Act
There have been more than 2,000 filibusters since 1917
2013- Wendy Davies, 13 hours filibustering a bill that would’ve closed almost all of Texas’s abortion clinics
Congressional oversight examples of sufficient and limited:
Trump had a record breaking low of 39% approval rating after 100 days
Obama’s popularity in 2010 was around 50%
Obama was able to enact to 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal with little oversight
Obama failed to pass immigration and gun control reform
George W Bush able to pass the 2001 PATRIOT Act quickly as a response to 9/11- little oversight
In 2020 Biden withdrew troops from Afghanistan without congressional approval
The power of the President (e.g commander in chief, executive agreements, veto etc)
No child left behind act 2002- George W Bush
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 2010- Obama
Tax Cuts and Job Act 2017- Trump
33% of Bushes’ vetoes were overridden
Obama 1/12 vetoes were overridden
Obama called for immigration reform and gun control consistently during the state of the union however failed to achieve other- did achieve gay rights reform however
Trump failed in repealing Obama care
Obama failed to have SC justice- Merick Garland confirmed by republican senate
President Clinton had 139 recess appointments
Trump passed executive orders imposing sanctions of Iran- separating families who crossed the US border illegally
Clinton had 381 signing statements (presidential interpretation of the law and how it should be applied)
Obama made 212 pardons
President Obama brokered the Iran Nuclear deal and the Paris climate change agreement through executive orders
UN 2012 treaty on convention with the rights of persons of disabilities was rejected under Obama by the senate
Chuck Hagel had to resign as the secretary of defence due to ideological incompatibility with Obama on Guantanamo Bay
Obama used the white house as a ‘bully pulpit’ to advocate for military action against Syria in his 2013 rose garden speech
Trump ridiculed for a short and weak ‘coattails effect’
Obama was able to use the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in order to advance gun control agenda but ultimately nothing arose from this
Trump slow response to Hurricane Maria undermined his authority and popularity
After controversies of US military action in Middle East under George W Bush- congress was more willing to try and exercise control over this area
2007 Democrats attempted to defund the Iraq War
The Supreme Court:
3 Democrats, 6 Republicans = current makeup
In 2017, 7,390 cases sent to the SC but only 83 were taken
SC only hears around 1% of cases
Clarence Thomas was only narrowly approved by 52-48
Robert Bork rejected in 1987 by a 42-58 vote
Kavanaugh approved by 50-48
Bader Ginsburg approved 93-3
Rulings: Elections and spending: Citizens United V FEC (federal election commission) (2010) allowed for development of Super PACs
McCutcheon V FEC (2014)- lifting the ‘aggregate cap’ which limited the total an indicator could spend in an election
Healthcare: NFIB (national federation of independent business) V Sebeilius (2011)- individual manage functions as a tax and therefore is within Congress’ power to levy- upheld Obamacare
King V Burwell (2015)- subsidies for healthcare can be given to those enrolled in state healthcare exchanges or federal healthcare exchanges
Social policy: Obergefell V Hodges (2010)- legalised gay marriage
Whole women’s health V Hellerstedt (2016)- Texas could not place restrictions on the delivery of abortion services that place an undue burden on a women seeking an abortion
Dons V Jackson (2022)- overturned Roe V Wade- abortion is no longer a constitutional right
1st Amendment: Synder V Phelps (2011)- free speech is protected even if its controversial
2nd Amendment: DC V Heller (2008)- there is a right to individual gun ownership without a connection to a militia and for the use in the home for self-defence
8th amendment: Glossip V Gross (2015)- lethal injection does not violate ‘cruel and unusual’ punishment
Liberal Restraint- Whole Women’s health V Hellerstedt demonstrated a continuation in the Roe V Wade ruling
Conservative restraint = Glossip V Gross
Liberal activism = Obergefell V Hodges
Conservative activism- citizens United V FEC
2018 SC struck down aspects of the 1965 Voting Rights act
Rights protection:
1954 Brown V Board of Education- desegregated schools and ‘separate but equal’ ruling
1964 CRA passed
1978- regents of the University of California V Bakke, upheld affirmative action upheld within limited circumstances
Fisher V University of Texas (2013)- race could be a consideration in university admissions but would need to confirm this was ‘necessary’ (strict scrutiny)
DACA in 2012 allowed illegal immigrants who met certain conditions to remain in the USA free from the fear of deportation
DAPA together these protected 11 million undocumented migrants from deportation
Trump V Hawaii (2018)- court rules that Trump’s ‘travel ban’ was not unconstitutional
NAACP represents minority groups and uses the courts to attempt to do this e.g in 2023 it filed suit against the state of Mississippi for state laws that seek to increase policing of predominantly African American areas without giving adequate training to police officers
Florida’s 2022 Don’t Say Gay law (which limits discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity within education has been challenged by the Queer Student Union, a group of high school students who have engaged in voter registration and school walk ins)
