The Legislative Branch Of Congress Flashcards
How many members are there in the House of Representatives?
435
How does the legislative system in the US act as a compromise?
-small states favoured the New Jersey Plan which proposed all states receive an equal number of seats
-larger states favoured the Virginia Plan where population size determined the number of seats (House of Representatives is proportional, where in the Senate every state has 2 seats)
What is the role of Congress?
-passing legislation
-representing the people
-overseeing the executive
What powers are held by congress?
-legislative powers
-overriding a presidential veto
-initiating amendments to the constitution
-ratifying treaties (Senate only)
-declaring war
-congressional oversight
-confirming presidential appointments (Senate only)
-electing the President and Vice President in the event of a hung electoral college (last used in 1824)
Legislative powers:
-congress initiates legislation
-both houses must approve a bill
-it is then sent to the president for approval
Overriding a presidential veto:
-congress can override presidents veto with a 2/3s majority in each house
Ratifying treaties (senate only):
Presidents negotiate treaties, but are made official with a 2/3s majority in the Senate
Declaring War:
-both houses must vote to declare war
-not happened since 1941
-modern Presidents avoid asking congress for a declaration of war
Congressional oversight
-congress must approve federal budgets
-congressional committees allow congressional oversight and investigation of the executive
Confirming presidential appointments:
-senate confirmation needed for all presidential appointments to the federal judiciary and confirmation for some presidential appointments to the executive branch.
Impeachment and removal from office:
-only the House of Representatives can impeach a public official
-simple majority needed
-Senate can try impeachment
-2/3s needed for a guilty verdict
What is the legislative process in congress?
-bills can originate in House or Senate
-then examined by a standing committee (most important stage, the committee can amend the bill and decide if they release it to the whole chamber)
-if it passes the committee stage it is then timetabled for a debate
-a bit must pass through congress and the Senate to become law
-differences between the House and Senate version of the bill are discussed in conference committees
What happens after congress passes a piece of legislation?
-sent to the president
-its signed, vetoed or left on the presidents desk
-if its left on the desk for 10 days it immediately becomes law
What is the pocket veto?
-when the president leaves the bill on their desk by congress adjourns before the end of the 10 day period
-congress can’t override it as it is not in session
What are the criteria that members of congress must meet?
-members of congress over 25 and members of the Senate over 30
-members of the House need US citizenship for a minimum 7 yrs and for the Senate a minimum 9yrs
-Senators and members of Congress must reside in the state they represent
Which was the most radically diverse congress in history?
2021-2024
When were the first 2 muslim women elected to congress?
2019-2021
Who are the ‘squad’?
-4 Democrat congresswomen of colour
-seen to be presenting a new generation of progressive politics (included Alexandria Ocasio-Ortez + youngest ever congresswomen at 29)
Which congress had the largest proportion of women?
-117th (2020)
-27% women (more women from the Democrat rather than the Republican Party)
Which groups are underrepresented in Congress?
-Hispanics (make up to 185 of the population but just 9% of the 117th congress)
-African Americans (117th record number of African-Americans in the Senate at 55)
-23% of the population has no religion, but only one member of the 117th was atheist
-117th congress had 11 openly LGBTQ+ members of congress
Reasons for underrepresentation in congress?
-members of congress typically come from state legislatures where women and African-Americans are also underrepresented (shortage of suitable candidates)
-minority groups better represented in the House because of ‘majority-minority districts’
Evidence of the Senate being hostile toward women:
-Senate swimming pool was male-only until 2009
-Senators had to be physically present to vote (difficult to take maternity leave whilst the Senate is in session)
-2018: Tammy Duckworth became the first senator to have a baby while on office + senate changed its rules and allowed young children in the chambers
Why are Senate terms longer than house terms?
-so that they can take a more longterm view (they can make decisions that are maybe unpopular in the short-term but necessary)
-also protected against the volatile swings in public opinion
Gridlock:
-a failure of congress to agree over legislation meaning the new laws can’t be passed
-often happens during times of divided government
Filibuster:
-tactic used in the Senate to prevent a vote
-Senators can debate for as long as they wish
-filibustering senators aim to make a speech long enough to use up all the time available for voting
Cloture:
-the process to end a filibuster
-3/5s majority of senators must vote for cloture
-senator must stop talking so that the senate can vote
Argument that congress does perform its legislative function properly:
-congress has passed transformative legislation (e.g Affordable Care Act 2010)
-major legislation more likely to be passed in times of unified government
-even in times of hyper partisanship: compromise is possible (Democrats and Republicans worked together to pass the First Step Act 2018)
-can pass emergency legislation when it need to (e.g CARE)
-congress can reject legislation proposed by the executive
Argument that congress does NOT perform its legislative function effectively:
-only 2-3% of bills become laws
-112th congress was the least productive in history passing 283 bills
-gridlock is common: Senate filibustering is adding to that
-increased closed rule by the House Rules Committees has reduced the number of Amendments made to House Bills (prevents legislation being overturned)
-Presidential vetoes rarely overturned because a 2/3s supermajority is needed
Oversight:
-the process by which congress oversees and scrutinises the activities of the federal government
-not specifically mentioned in the constitution, making it an implied power
What political factors determine how effectively congress performs oversight:
-During periods of divided government the majority of the House or senate has an incentive to investigate their opponents.
-in 2018, Democrats in the House of Representatives launched a series of investigations into trump that resulted in his first impeachment.
-Presidents with high levels of public approval may face less opposition. eg Bush after 9/11 had an approval rating of 90% and enjoyed lowed levels of congressional scrutiny.
What are the four ways congress can carry put its oversight function?
-investigating the executive
-confirming presidential nominees
-impeaching officials
-ratifying treaties
How does Congress investigate the executive?
-through standing and select committees
-committees hold hearing and can compel witnesses to provide information to their investigation
-threat of scrutiny from congressional committees should ensure that the executive makes decisions that are legal
Why are congressional investigations sometimes ineffective
-some campaigns are intended to smear the opposition with bad publicity rather than provide a positive form
By how much was the Congressional Reach Service and Congressional Office budget cut between 1975 and 2015?
45%
Why had the Senate confirmation process for Presidential nominee been criticised?
-become highly politicised
-Trumps education Secretary Betsy DeVos displayed a lack of knowledge on basic education policy during her 2017 confirmation nearing
-Senate voted 50-50, Mike Pence broke the vote to confirm DeVos
Why is impeachment ineffective?
-it was never led to the conviction and removal from office of a sitting president
-right after Trump was acquitted on his 1st impeach trial, Trump’s popularity reached 49%, the highest point of his presidency
Treaties that the Senate has failed to ratify:
-The Treaty of Versailles (1920)
-The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (1999): would have banned the testing of nuclear weapons
-the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2012)
Argument that congress does fulfil its role of congressional oversight effectively:
-Strong oversight during periods of divided government
-standing/select committees investigations provided high profile scrutiny of the executive
-Congress is better able to check a president if they are unpopular
-fear of impeachment keeps a president acting within the law
-President most work closely with the Senate to ratify treaties
-Senate can refuse to confirm presidential appointments
Argument that Congress does not fulfil its oversight function effectively:
-members of congress generally reluctant to criticise the President they they belong to the same party
-Congress’ lack of popularity makes it difficult for them to attack a popular president
-investigations can be politicised
-no president has ever been removed from office by impeachment
-Trump’s partisan acquittal by the Senate in 2020 showed that political allegiance may have more impact in an impeachment trial than facts
-Senate refused to ratify reasonable treaties
-confirmation process are highly politicised
What does congress having the ‘power of the purse’ mean?
-only congress can raise revenue for the federal government government
-all tax bills must start in the house
When does government shut down happen?
-when neither the executive or congress is willing to compromise the budget so its not passed
When was the last government shutdown?
-2018-19 and lasted 35 days
-longest in US history
How does congress aim to avoid government shutdown?
-congress resorts to temporary ‘continuing resolutions’ + short term source of funding while budget negotiations continue
Argument that congress does use the power of the purse effectively:
-one of the most power checks on the power of the executive
-the executive may make concession to congress in order to avoid a shutdown
-gov shutdowns are relatively rare
Argument that congress does NOT use the power of the purse effectively:
-government shutdowns are disruptive and unpopular
-threat of a shutdown hovers over every budget negotiation
-presidents are unable to reduce the size for the federal budget, so debt continue to increase
-‘pork barrel’ funding is an unnecessary use of taxpayers money
-Trump’s use of emergency powers to bypass congress’ power of the purse has create a precedent that may be used by future presidents
What are congressional caucuses?
members of congress who work together to achieve similar aims
What are the main party caucuses?
-the House/Senate
-Republican caucus
-House/Senate Democrat Caucus
Gibe an example of a smaller congressional caucus:
-2021, House Freedom Caucus consisted of around 45 Conservative Republicans
-Congressional Progressive Caucus: 100 Progressive Democrats
Example of a bipartisan congressional caucus:
-the bipartisan heroin and opioid task force
-the Congressional Black Caucus
What is the role of majority and minority leaders in congress?
-plan the legislative agenda and coordinate their party for votes and debates
-try to achieve party unity so that the party can achieve its legislative aims
What is the most high-profile leadership position in congress?
-Speaker of the House of Representatives
-elected by all members of the House, so belong to the majority party
What is the role of the speaker of the House?
-preside over debates and keep order while the house is in session
-they determine the legislative agenda
-choose members for conference and select committees
-speaker is second only to the VP in the line of presidential succession
Example of a Speaker of the House?
-Nancy Pelosi
-Speaker of the House 2007-11 and again in 2019
-she led House Democrats to impeach Trump in 2019
-also worked with the Republicans to pass bipartisan legislation (e.g Trumps revised trade deal with Canada and Mexico)
In what way can a president achieve party loyalty?
-threaten them with a withdrawal of parts support in their election campaign
Give a reason for the polarisation of congress?
-the reduced number of competitive districts
-there were 164 competitive congressional districts in 1997 and 91 by 2020
Examples of measures taken to improve bipartisanship:
-the Problem Solver Caucus (2017): set up to promote bipartisan co-operation
-2020 Senators voted unanimously to approve the CARES Act
Examples of committees in the US:
-Standing Committees
-Select Committees
-House Rules Committees
-Conference Committees
Features of Standing Committees:
-permanent
-focus on specific area of policy
-20 in the House and 16 in the Senate
-parties are represented in the same proportion as in the Senate or in the House
What are standing committees responsible for?
-holding hearings during the committee stage of bills and vote on whether the bill should proceed to the House or Senate
-carry out investigations and oversight of the executive focused on the committee’s area of policy
-they also consider presidential appointments: the committee vote is a recommendation to the rest of the Senate on whether to confirm the appointment
Examples of a standing committee making an influential decision:
-Merrick Garlands appointment to the SCOTUS by Obama
-Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee supported by the majority leader Mitch McConnell’s refusal to hold hearing on the appointment
What is the difference between US and UK select committees?
-select committees in the US are vernally temporary and focus on a specific issue: like Russian Interference in the 2016 Election
-UK select committees are permanent and responsible for the oversight of a particular policy areas
What is the role of select committees:
-set up to deal with a specific and urges issues
-most are temporary
-don’t usually work on legislation
-carry out high profile and detail hearings of public interest
Give an example of a permanent select committee?
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Give an example of a select committee:
-2017-2020 select committee on intelligence investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election
What is the House Rules Committee?
-standing committees in the House of Representatives which sets the rules for bills
-determine how much time they will have on the floor of the House, whether Amendments will be allowed
-open rules allows congress to make amendments, closed rules do not
membership of the House Rules Committee:
-membership of 13
-weighted 2:1 in favour of the majority party
How can a decision made by the House Rules Committee be overturned?
-if an absolute majority of member of congress sign a discharge petition
What percentage of bills were discussed under closed rules 2017-19?
-56%
-gives the minority party less opportunity to shape legislation
What did Pete Sessions do as chair of the House Rules Committee?
-sued his position to advance his personal opposition to marijuana + prevented amendments that would ahem relaxed federal laws against marijuana in states where it is legal
What are conference committees?
-temporary committees set up to consider a specific bill
-it happens when the senate and House have passed different versions of the same bill
-members of the relevant standing committee from each house come together and combine the bill
-both houses either approve or vote against the conference bill
How has the number of conference bills passed changed?
1995-7: there were 67 conference reports
2017-19: there were 7 conference reports
In what ways do members of congress repress their constituents?
-communicating with constituents
-passing legislation
-committee membership
-lobbying the executive
-constituency casework
How do members of congress communicate with constituents?
-through visits to states and districts
-town hall meeting
-use of social media and emails keeps them informed of constituent views
How do members of congress represent their constituents through passing legislation?
-debate, amend and vote on legislation with their constituents in mind
-may follow the delegate model and vote according to their constituent views
-may follow the trustee model and vote for what they believe are their constituents best interests
How do members of congress represent their constituents through committee membership?
-members of congress sit on committees that allow them to defend their state or district interests
-Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee Pat Roberts: Senator for the agricultural state of Kansas- Roberts steered a bipartisan farm bill through congress - gave farmers billions of dollars of funding
How do members of congress represent their constituents through lobbying the executive?
-lobby the executive for funds and policies that will benefit their constituents
-‘pork barrelling’: federal government allocating funding to states to secure the support of key members of congress
-2017-19 $15 billion spent on ‘pork barrelling’
What percentage of candidates for congress are re-elected?
90%
In what areas do the House and Senate share joint powers?
-legislation
-oversight
-overriding a presidential veto
-initiating amendments to the constitution
-declaring war
What sole powers does the Senate hold:
-confirming appointments
-ratifying treaties
-impeachment trials
What sole powers does the House hold?
-the power of the purse
How many presidents were previously Senators?
-16 (Joe Biden and Obama)
How did Harris as VP undermine the separation of powers?
-Harris tie break vote gave the Democrats a majority in the Senate
-gave the executive direct influence in the Senate
Argument that Congress is the broken branch of government:
-frequent gridlock
-only 2-3% of bills become laws
-increasing partisanship
-government shutdowns
-congress deeply unpopular with the public
-congressional investigations more focussed on partisan point scoring
-‘pork’ spending
-Trump’s 2020 impeachment was acquitted on partisan grounds
-Senate confirmations are often politicised as opposed to genuine oversight
-Congress has not declared war since 1941
Argument that Congress is not the broken branch of government:
-major legislation still passed through congress
-bipartisan compromise still possible: First Step Act 2018
-CARES Act 2020 should congress could unite in response to a national emergency
-high rates of incumbency
-power of the purse allows congress to hold the executive to account
-congress has tried 3 presidents for impeachment
-polarisation in congress representative of a divided USA
