Powers of Congress Flashcards
What are the three exclusive powers of the house?
1) Impeach any executive member or member of the federal judiciary
2) Begin consideration of all money bills
3) Elect the president if the Electoral College is deadlocked
What are the four exclusive powers of the Senate?
1) Ratify all treaties made by the executive
2) confirms most major executive and judicial appointments made by the President
3) Try cases of impeachment
4) Elect the VP if the EC is deadlocked
When was the exclusive House power of electing the President if the EC is deadlocked last used?
1824
What kind of majority is needed for the exclusive senate function of ratifying treaties?
⅔
What kind of majority is needed for the exclusive senate function of confirming nominations?
Simple majority
What kind of majority is needed for the exclusive senate function of trying cases of impeachment in order to remove them from office?
⅔
What is to impeach?
To make an accusation or bring charges against someone
Why does the House have the exclusive power of starting all money bills?
When the founding fathers made the constitution, it was the only elected chamber
What two things did the House impeach clinton for and when?
1998 Perjury and the Obstruction of Justice
Who was the only other president impeached by the House and what happened to him?
Andrew Johnson but was aquitted by the Senate in 1868
How many Senators have ever been impeached?
1
How many people have ever been impeached?
19
How many SC justices have ever been impeached?
1
How many cabinet members have ever been impeached?
1
How many federal judges outside of the SC have ever been impeached?
14
What is a kind of hidden power of the senate?
Whilst they will nearly always agree to Presidential nominations and treaties, the President will only ever submit appointments and treaties that he thinks the senate will confirm
What were the two rejections by the Senate in 1998?
1) Comprehensive test ban treaty (18 votes short of ⅔ majority)
2) Clinton’s nomination of Ronnie White to federal trial court (5 votes short of a simple majority)
What are the 5 joint powers?
1) Pass legislation including the budget
2) Conduct investigations into the executive
3) Initiate consitutional amendments
4) Declare war
5) Confirm a new VP
Complete the sentence: Unlike in the UK where the HoC dominates the legislated, the two…
….chambers in the US have equal legislative powers
How does the passage of legislation demonstrate how the two chambers have equal legislative powers?
Legislation passes concurrently and all legislation must successfully pass both stages of the house, with both houses conducting detailed scrutiny in committee
How does the amendment process demonstrate how the two chambers have equal legislative powers?
Both houses have full power of amendment, often resulting in two different versions of the same bill once it has gone through both houses
What are set up to reconcile the differences between the two bills if they cannot be sorted amicably?
conference committees
What kind of committees do both houses always have?
Standing committees
What are the four Ps of Standing committees
Permanent
Prestigious
Policy Specialist
Powerful
What is required in both houses for overriding a presidential veto?
⅔ majority
What is required in both houses for proposing a consitutional amendment?
⅔ majority
What are the two functions of standing committees?
oversight and legislation
Though both houses have standing committees to investigate the work of the executive branch, what can they also establish ?
Temporary select committees to do so
When was the joint power to declare was last used?
December 1941
What happened when the joint power to declare war was used in December 1941?
Congress declared war on Japan following Pearl Harbour
What has happened to the joint power to declare war?
It has become somewhat redundant
What are the other four times that the joint power to declare war has been used?
1) War of 1812 against GB
2) Mexican war 1846
3) Spanish American war 1898
4) WW1 1917
When was the final power of voting in a new VP with a simple majority established?
1967
What is the 1967 joint power to vote in a new VP for?
For when the office becomes vacant in between elections
When are the two occasions when the 1967 joint power to vote in a new VP have been used?
1) 1973 when Nixon appointed Ford after Spiro Agnew Resigned
2) 1974 when Nixon resigned, ford became President and Nelson Rockefeller became VP
What about state representation means that the senate is considered more important?
Senators represent the whole state not just a part of it
What about terms means that the senate is considered more important?
6 year terms, three times as long as house members
What about the number of members means that the senate is considered more important?
435 house members but in the senate just one of 100
What is the implication of being one of 100 rather than one out of 435 that means that senate is more desirable?
Senators are therefore likely to chair a committee much sooner than their house counterparts would
What kind of recognition do Senators enjoy that house members don’t?
Name recognition, not only in their state but across the country
What kind of passage shows the prestige of the senate relative to the house?
It is virtually unheard of for senators to seek to become House Members, yet it is common for house members to seek to become Senators
Senators, showing the prestige of the senate relative to the house, are more often seen as what?
Potential presidential candidates and vice presidential candidates
What are the four recent examples of Presidential candidates or front runners being Senators?
1) Obama
2) Clinton
3) McCain
4) Sanders
What are four recent examples of Vice Presidential candidates or front runners being Senators?
1) Joe Liberman
2) John Edwards
3) Joe Biden
4) Time Kaine
Only Biden was successful
Which exclusive powers are more important which makes the senate a more attractive destination?
Senate
What are the four ways in which the two houses can be viewed as equal?
1) All bills must go through all stages in both houses and neither house can overturn the other’s decision
2) Both have powerful standing committees conducting separate hearings
3) At the conference stage both are represented and both must agree
4) To override a veto, a ⅔ majority is required in both houses
