Semester One Final (Congress) Flashcards
Which has more diversity: the house or the senate?
House
Which is older (average age): the house or the senate?
Senate
What is the age requirement for the house and what is the average age?
25, 50
What is the age requirement for the senate and what is the average age?
30, 60
What are the requirements for being a member of the house?
- 25 years old
- 7 years a citizen
- Must live in the state you run in
What are the requirements for being a member of the senate?
- 30 years old
- 9 years a citizen
- Live in the state you run in
How many years is a term in the house?
2
How many years is a term in the senate?
6
What is the average salary for a house or senate member?
$180,000 —> $200,000+
What are franking privileges?
Free mail for official buisness
What is a COLA?
Cost of living adjustment (Congress can raise their own pay, but it doesn’t take affect until the next term)
What is an incumbency?
When the person who is currently in office runs again
Incumbents win what percentage of the time?
90%
What is gerrymandering?
Drawing district lines to favor a party (districts have to be similar in population
What is name recognition?
People vote for names they know
What is proven service?
Only an incumbent can tell you what they HAVE done
What is pork?
Bringing good things back to your state (Any financial project where federal money comes to your state)
What is a quorum?
A majority
What is a quorum of the house?
218
What is a quorum of the senate?
51
What is committee of the whole?
The house only needs 100/435 to conduct other buisness
The senate operates under what assumption?
The assumption of quorum
What is a discharge petition?
When the majority of the house (218) revives a bill and forces it out of a committee
What is a filibuster? When and where does it happen?
- Talking about anything in order to stall a bill
- Done by the majority party in order to kill a bill
- Senate
What is cloture?
- How to stop a filibuster
- 3/5 vote (60 people)
Germane amendments happen where?
The house and senate
What is a non-germane amendment? Where and why does it happen?
- Attaching non-related things to someone else’s bill
- Senate
- Discharge petitions don’t happen in the senate
What is a rider?
When you attach something to a bill
What is pork-barrel legislation?
A rider that specifically brings money back to your state
What is a Christmas tree bill?
Bills that attract a lot of pork because they have overwhelming support by the house and the senate
Where do the majority of bills die?
In committee
What is pigeonholing?
When the committee chair puts a bill in a drawer and lets it die
What is a veto and how can it be overridden?
- President kills a bill
- Can be overridden with a 2/3 vote by Congress
What is a pocket veto?
When the President refuses to sign a bill within the last ten days of the session and it automatically dies
What is caucus?
Informal groups that share a common cause (way beyond parties to promote an issue)
What is senatorial courtesy?
When a President appoints someone to a federal court they are supposed to the “OK” from the majority party leaders
What is logrolling?
“You support my bill, I’ll support yours”
What are the expressed powers of Congress? (Section 8 1-17)
- Power to tax
- Commerce powers (regulating interstate commerce)
- Borrowing power (Congress is NEVER required to have a balanced budget)
- Military power (fund and maintain a military)
- Currency power (decide what the money is)
- Bankruptcy power
- Post Office
- Copyrights and patents
- Weights and measures
- Judicial powers (Counterfeiting, treason, piracies)
What is a strict constructionist?
Believes the Constitution should be interpreted literally
What is a liberal constructionist?
Believes the Constitution should be interpreted as a living and growing document
What are reserved powers?
Powers held for the states (10th amendment)
What is a nonlegaslative power?
A power that doesn’t take a law
What percentage of Congress is required to propose an amendment?
2/3
The house can impeach with what percentage?
50% + 1
The senate can convict with what percentage?
2/3
The senate approves appointments with what percentage?
50% + 1
The senate approves treaties with what percentage?
2/3
What is investigatory power?
Congress can look into matters of the government
What is oversight?
Congress can look into anything they fund
The 6 term 2 year cycle of the senate prevents what?
A complete turn over
The Senate only has amending power on which type of bill?
Revenue bills
The house has what type of debate?
Limited debate
The senate has what type of debate?
Unlimited debate
The senate/house has a large constituency?
Senate
The senate was originally picked by the state legislature until which amendment?
17th
What is reapportionment?
Every ten years, district lines and representation are redrawn
The reapportionment act of 1929 did what?
Capped congress (house) at 435
What are the roles of the Speaker of the House?
- Majority party
- Control debate
- Debate
- Help pick committee chairs
- Vote
- Be fair and biased
Who assigns bills to committee?
Majority leader in the Senate
