Test 2 Flashcards
Protestors
Occupy Wall Street
TEA party
Congress gets a bad rap — but is it deserved?
Congress is the most representative branch
Congress is the most accessible branch
Congress is the most deliberative branch
Diversity in congress
Is increasing
Diversity in congress is increasing
The most recent election was in Nov. 2016
The 115th congress will serve from 2017-2018
House: Constitution
Article I(2)
House: chosen by
People
House: term
2 years
House: minimum age
25
House: minimum length of citizenship
7 years
House: number of members
435 (by population)
Senate: Constitution
Article I(3)
Senate: chosen by
People (originally, state legislature - 17th amendment)
Senate: term
6 years (staggered)
Senate: minimum age
30
Senate: minimum length of citizenship
9 years
Senate: number of members
100 (2 per state)
Purpose between the differences of the House and the Senate
The House is intended to be the “immediate representatives of the people”
The House prevents the Senate from becoming an “aristocratic body”
The Senate provides stability as “a defense to the people against their own temporary errors and delusions”
Occupy Wall Street
Positive freedom (freedom to)
Protesting wealth, inequality
99% vs. 1%
Wanted the government to regulate Wall Street and redistribute money
TEA party
Negative freedom (freedom from)
Too much government spending, too much taxes
Waste
Regulation
House of Representatives - current representation
The current House is 55.4% Republican (241R/194D)
The House was majority Democrat prior to the Nov. 2012 elections
The balance of power tends to shift depending on the popularity of the President
House of Representatives - leadership
The current Speaker of the House is Paul Ryan, R-WI
The current House Minority Leader is Nancy Pelosi, D-CA
House leaders are assisted by “Whips” who help count votes and “whip up” support for bills
House of Representatives - committees
Today we have many specialized areas of law
It is impossible for every lawmaker to be an expert in every area
There are over 20 committees and over 100 sub-committees in the House
Representative re-apportioning
Every 10 years based on the U.S. census
States can lose or gain representatives based on population change
Louisiana lost a representative after the 2010 census (Hurricane Katrina)
Louisiana losing a representative
Louisiana re-drew its districts (2010)
The “majority minority” district (District 2) was preserved
Gerrymandering
The process of drawing districts based on political lines
A gerrymander can give a district a uniform voice (ex. Majority minority districts)
They also allow state legislatures to influence national elections
Louisiana’s 2nd district
Named after Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts in 1812
Louisiana’s 2nd District
Top 10 Gerrymander
Is the 2nd District a “safe” seat for minorities, giving them a unified voice?
Or does it “stack” the majority vote in one district…thereby diluting its power in the other districts
Number of Louisiana representatives in the House
6
Louisiana Representatives: District 1
Steve Scalise (R)
Louisiana Representatives: District 2
Cedric Richmond (D)
Louisiana Representatives: District 3
Clay Higgins (R)
Louisiana Representatives: District 4
Mike Johnson (R)
Louisiana Representatives: District 5
Ralph Abraham (R)
Louisiana Representatives: District 6
Garret Graves (R)
Senators - representation
Elections are staggered - 1/3 of the seats stand for election every 2 years
The current Senate is 52% Republican
The Senate was majority Democrat prior to the Nov. 2014 elections
Does Gerrymandering apply to the Senate?
No
Senate - leadership
The VP (currently Michael Pence) is the ceremonial leader of the Senate
Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader
Senate Leander’s are also assisted by “Whips”
Current Senate Minority Leader
Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Current Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Senate - committee
Today we have many specialized areas of law
It is impossible for every lawmaker to be an expert in every area
There are approximately 17 committees and 70 sub-committees in the Senate
Louisiana has ___ Senators
2
Louisiana Senators
John Kennedy was elected in 2016
Dr. Bill Cassidy was elected n 2014
Incumbents
Have an advantage - it is harder to get elected than to get re-elected
Can use their office to help individual votes (constituency services)
Incumbents may be on influential committees and bring benefits to their home state
Incumbents get more media attention and P.R. Support
It is generally easier for incumbents to raise money for their election campaigns
It’s not easy to become a law
10,000 bills are proposed every year
BUT only a couple hundred become law
How bills become a law - House
Bill proposed in House
House subcommittee hearings
House committee hearings
House vote - limited debate —> senate subcommittee hearings
Joint Conference Committee
Final House vote
President signs or vetoes
How bill becomes a law - Senate
Bill proposed in Senate
Senate subcommittee hearings
Senate committee hearings
Senate vote - unlimited debate —> house subcommittee hearings
Joint Conference Committee
Final Senate vote
President signs or vetoes
President signs or vetoes
Veto can be overridden by 2/3 majority of both houses of Congress
Senate has a tradition of unlimited debate
Filibuster
Filibuster
One senator can delay the vote on a bill
Can be defeated by “cloture”, which forces a vote
The record is over 24 hours
Cloture
Usually requires a 3/5 majority vote (60 senators)
Many people criticize Congress for ____
Gridlock
Gridlock
Should we blame the “ideologically extreme” Republicans
But Wilson complained about gridlock 100 years ago!
Congress is the most representative and the most deliberative branch
Gridlock just means that the people are divided on an issue
Gridlock over the budget can be particularly frustrating
Gridlock over the budget
“No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law…And a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.” —> Article I(9)
Therefore, under the Constitution, Congress must pass a law to spend money and publish a regular budget
Federal budget for fiscal year 2017
4 trillion
This means there was a 700 billion deficit for this fiscal year
Revenue from taxes is estimated at 3.3 trillion
The federal government’s fiscal year (FY)
Runs from October 1 to September 30
FY 2018 started on October 1, 2017
Current federal debt
Over 20 trillion
Interest on the debt alone is 6% of the federal budget and increasing
Most of the federal budget is redistributed through _____
“Mandatory” spending
Mandatory spending
Social Security, Medicare and other entitlements
Does not go through annual appropriations
Discretionary spending
Half goes to the military
This leaves approximately 16% to full all of the rest of the government
Federal spending is a two-step process
- Create or authorize the program
2. Fund the program through annual appropriations
Both the House and the Senate have ____
Appropriations Committees
House and Senate Appropriations Committees
Each appropriations committee is broken into Sub-Committees
There are 12 Appropriations Sub-Committees in the House and the Senate
Each Appropriations Sub-Committee
Is responsible for preparing an appropriations bill for its portion of the discretionary federal budget
The annual budget
All 12 appropriations bills
Must be passed before the fiscal year begins
The President recommends his budget plan in February (not law)
Congress passes a budget resolution in April (not law)
All 12 appropriations bill should be passed between April and September 30
When does the fiscal year begin
October 1
Process of appropriations law
President’s recommendation (by Feb.) and Joint Budget Resolution (by April)
House, Senate
Joint Conference Committee
Final House vote, final Senate vote
President signs before the new fiscal year (Oct. 1)
Process of appropriations law - House
12 Appropriations Subcommittees
Appropriations Committee
House vote
Process of appropriations law - Senate
12 Appropriations Subcommittees
Appropriations Committee
Senate vote
Government shutdown
If Congress does not pass a budget by Sept. 30
Impacts discretionary spending only
Impacts non-essential functions only
Last government shutdown
October 1-16, 2013
Avoid government shutdowns
Congress can use continuing resolutions and omnibus bills to avoid shut downs
A combination of CR and omnibus (CRomnibus) was used to avoid shut-down for FY 2015
Continuing Resolution (CR)
An extension which temporarily continues the old budget
Omnibus bill
Crams the 12 appropriations bills into one mega-bill
FY 2018 appropriations bill
Running late again
March 16, 2017
President trump made his budget proposal
July 19, 2017
House passed a Budget Resolution
Senate did not pass a Budget resolution until October 2017
Since July 19, 2017
The house pass 5 of 12 appropriations bills; the Senate passed 0
September 2017 - March 2018
Congress passed 5 continuing resolutions (CRs)
March 23, 2018
Congress passed an omnibus bill
The founders gave Executive power to ____
ONE President
The founders giving Executive power to ONE President
One person has more “energy” than multiple people
One person has more accountability than multiple people - the buck stops with the President
BUT the President’s powers were limited compared to a king’s
Which article of the Constitution established the Presidency
Article II
Terms to become President
Must be 35 years old
Must be a natural born citizen
4 year terms
Max 2 terms (22nd Amendment)
How is the President elected
By the Electoral College system
Electoral College system
Allows states to have a unified vote
Number of electoral college votes = members in Congress (Plus 3 for D.C.)
435+100+3 = 538
Can the electoral college vote differ from the popular vote
Yes, though on rare occasions
2016 election
Clinton received more total votes
Clinton: 65.8M (48.2%)
Trump: 63.0M (46.1%)
But Trump won the Electoral College and the Presidency
The President holds significant ____
Executive powers
Powers of the President
The President is our Head of State
The President has the power to sign Treaties with other countries
Binding treaties must be approved by 2/3 of the Senate
“Executive Agreements”
Holds the power to appoint Supreme Court justices and other officials (Article II(2))
Has power to make “Executive Orders”
Executive Agreements
Somewhat less formal than treaties and do not require 2/3 approval of the Senate
The President shares ___ with Congress
War powers
The President and Congress - war
The president is our Commander in Chief (Article II(2))
But under the constitution, only Congress can declare war - Article I(8)
Congress has not specifically declared war since WWII
America nonetheless continues to deploy troops around the world
President appointing Supreme Court justices and other officials
Appointments must be confirmed by a majority of the Senate
Supreme Court Justices serve for life
Thus, the President’s appointments can significantly outlast the President’s time in office
President Trump with Supreme Court Justic Neil Gorsuch
Executive Orders
Not in the Constitution
Allow the President to take quick action without involving Congress
Generally accepted IF the executive order does not conflict with the Constitution or existing law
2014 Obama taking executive action
Offers legal status to approximately 5 million undocumented immigrants
The president can invoke ____ to keep certain conversations confidential
Executive privilege
Executive privilege
A privileged communication is legally protected
Protects the communications between the president and certain advisors
The goal is to encourage honesty between the President and his advisors
Checks and balances - President
President can veto a law passed by Congress
President appoints judges with Senate approval
Checks and balances - Congress
Can override the president’s veto and impeach the President or his appointments
Checks and balances - Supreme Court
Judges can declare the actions of the President or Congress unconstitutional
The ____ makes it even harder to pass laws
Veto
Veto and laws
“The injury which may possibly be down by defeating a few good laws…will be amply compensated by the advantage of preventing a number of bad ones…there would be no greater danger of [the President] not using his power when necessary, than of his using it too often, or too much
Congress has power to ____ in a two step process
Remove the President
Removing the President
First, the House issues the “Articles of Impeachment”
Second, the President must face trial before the Senate
Conviction requires 2/3 of the Senate
Only two Presidents have been impeached by the House, but no president have been convicted by the Senate
The Cabinet
Made up of the Heads or “Secretaries” of federal government departments
Created by the Constitution Article (II(2))
Members are appointed by the President, subject to Senate approval
While Washington’s Cabinet was small, today’s Cabinet is much bigger
EOP
Executive Office of the President
Provides advice and support to the President
Established by FDR in 1939
Composed of the President’s closest policy advisors
NOT heads of government departments and they are NOT confined by the Senate
Most of the federal government is _____
Bureaucracy
The Bureaucracy in ____
Your Life
Most of the federal government is ____
Bureaucracy
The Bureacracy
Part of the Executive Branch, but it exercises powers delegated by Congress
It writes regulations
It investigates violations
It decides fines and penalties in particular cases
Very active and has very few checks and balances
Today, the federal government is involved in every aspect of our lives
Federal agencies passed 80,000 pages of regulations just in 2013
There are over 3 million federal government workers
Almost half the population receives some form of government benefits
Federal Bureaucracy: Goal
Implement policy
Federal Bureaucracy
Don’t face competition
Slower feedback through elections and lawsuits
Slow and rigid structure
Difficult to fire even bad workers
Funded by involuntary taxpayers
Private business: goal
Make a profit
Private business
Face competition
Immediate feedback through free market
Flexible structure
Have ability to fire workers
Funded by voluntary investors and customers
There are multiple federal agencies that regulate the workplace
Department of Labor
Equal employment opportunity commission
Federal agencies also regulate workplace safety, union rights, special rules for government contracts, unemployment benefits, etc.
All these regulations can be confusing and costly for small (and large!) businesses
Department of Labor
Regulates work conditions, including wages and hours
Contains many sub-agencies (Wage and Hour Division)
There is a strong emphasis on employee protection over flexibility
Equal employment opportunity commission (EEOC)
Enforces anti-discrimination laws in the workplace
Issues press releases from its newsroom
Current enforcement priorities include accommodation of transgender individuals and accommodation of service animals
The rights of employers and dissenters are ignored
Wage and Hour Division
Regulates wages and hours of work
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Heavily regulates food and drugs
Requires drug commercials to include side effects
How do you include side effects on social media, in real time, with limited space?
Drug companies have asked the FDA for guidance on the use of social media for year. To date, only “draft guidance” has been published
Bureaucracy can be very slow to keep up with new technology
Congress has made some attempt to …
Regulate the regulators
Congress - “regulate the regulators”
Freedom of information act
Administrative procedure act
Sunshine act
Some politicians are calling for elimination of some bureaucratic agencies
Freedom of Information Act
FOIA
Requires federal agencies to produce documents if requested
Administrative Procedure Actq
Requires federal agencies to give notice of proposed regulations and solicit public opinion
Sunshine Act
Requires federal agencies to open their meetings to the public, unless an exception applies
Have we traded too much freedom for (the illusion of) security
The government should enforce certain standards of safety, quality, and justice
But once a bureaucracy is created, it can easily become overly powerful and overly intrusive
Excruciatingly detailed regulations can take the place of freedom and common sense
Under a bureaucratic state, people can be harshly punished for violating rules they didn’t know existed and doing things that caused no harm
