The legislative branch of government: Congress Flashcards
1
Q
Structure of Congress
A
- bicameral: House of Reps and Senate
- 435 congressmen who serve 2-year terms
- 2 senators per state that serve 6-year terms
2
Q
Roles of Congress
A
- passing legislation
- representing the people
- overseeing the executive
- declaring war (approval needed from both houses, not been used since 1941 on Japan)
3
Q
Senate only powers
A
- ratifying treaties (presidents negotiate treaties, but need a senate supermajority to be ratified)
- confirming presidential appointments
4
Q
Legislative power
A
- either chamber can block legislation, approval in both chambers is needed for a bill to become law
- senators can filibuster a bill
- the president decides whether to sign, veto, or leave a bill
- if the president vetoes a bill, Congress can amend it, abandon it, or override the veto with a supermajority in both houses
5
Q
How effective is Congress at legislation?
A
- only 2-3% of bills become law
- presidential vetoes are rarely overturned as a supermajority is needed
- gridlock happens often if the House and Senate are controlled by different parties
- transformative legislation has been passed, including Obamacare
6
Q
Gridlock
A
- when Congress fails to agree on legislation
- often caused by divided govt. when parties refuse to compromise
7
Q
Filibuster
A
- a tactic used by the Senate to prevent a vote
- Senators can debate for as long as they want, so filibustering senators make long speeches to use up all voting time
8
Q
Cloture
A
- the process for ending a filibuster
- a 3/5 supermajority of senators is needed, and the filibustering senator must stop talking so the Senate can move to voting
9
Q
Oversight
A
- an implied power (not written in the constitution)
- oversees and investigates the activities of govt.
10
Q
How does Congress carry out oversight?
A
- investigating the executive
- confirming presidential nominees
- impeaching officials
- ratifying treaties
11
Q
Oversight - Confirmation of nominees
A
- the confirmation process is highly politicised, and a president whose party controls the senate generally has their nominees approved, even if they are not a good choice
- Trump’s education secretary displayed a lack of basic education policy during her confirmation hearing, and she was still confirmed
- nominations are also blocked for partisan reasons, like in 2016 when Republican senators refused to hold hearings on Obama’s SC nominee, Merrick Garland
12
Q
How is Congressional oversight effective?
A
- both impeachment and the threat of it encourage govt. officials to behave properly
- the Senate can refuse to confirm presidential appointments
- standing/select committees of the executive provide high-profile scrutiny
13
Q
How is Congressional oversight NOT effective?
A
- members of Congress aren’t likely to criticise the president if they belong to the same party
- no president has been removed from office by impeachment
- the confirmation process is highly politicised
14
Q
Power of the Purse
A
- only Congress can raise revenue (tax people)
- all tax bills must start in the House
- the Senate can amend tax bills
- the approval of both chambers is needed for the bill to become law
15
Q
How is the Power of the Purse effective?
A
- it is one of the most powerful check on the President
- govt. shutdown is rare
- the executive may compromise to avoid a shutdown
16
Q
How is the Power of the Purse NOT effective?
A
- Trump’s use of emergency powers to bypass Congress’ POTP has created a precedent that can be used by future presidents
- govt. shutdowns are extremely disruptive and unpopular
17
Q
Trump’s 2018-19 Government Shutdown
A
- the shutdown lasted 35 days (longest in history)
- due to deadlock between Trump and Congress over the Mexican border wall
- 800,000 federal workers were affected, as well as numerous govt. services
18
Q
How does the legislative process work?
A
- Introduction (no debate or vote)
- Committee stage (hearing and vote)
- Timetabling
- Floor debate and vote on passage
- Conference committee (to reconcile differences between both versions of the bill)
(both chambers vote on the final bill before…) - Presidential action (sign, veto, ignore)
19
Q
Congressional caucuses
A
- Republicans belong either to the House or Senate Republican caucus, ditto with Democrats
- smaller congressional caucuses act as ‘sub-groupings’ of members with similar idealogical interests to advance (eg. House Freedom Caucus represents conservative Republicans w/ a commitment to limited govt.)
- some caucuses have members of both parties, like the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force
- they can also have members from both houses, like the Congressional Black Caucus
20
Q
Influence of smaller caucuses
A
- they can act as an alternative influence to the party leadership
- at the start of 2018 the House Freedom Caucus opposed Trump’s budget, forcing the Republicans to depend on Democrat votes to pass the bill
21
Q
Party leadership
A
- members of each party caucus elect a leader (the majority leader if the party has a majority in that chamber, or the minority leader if not)
- the majority and minority leaders act as ‘floor leaders’ in both chambers
- both leaders coordinate their parties of votes and debates, and the majority leaders plan the legislative agenda
22
Q
Speaker of the House of Representatives
A
- the most high-profile leadership in Congress (second only to the VP in the line of presidential succession)
- the Speaker is elected by all members of the house and is a member of the majority party
- they preside over debates and keep ordering in the House, and choose members of conference and select committees
23
Q
Case Study: Nancy Pelosi
A
- the first female speaker, served from 2007-11 and was re-elected in 2019
- this was ground-breaking as it was the most important position held by a woman in Congress (until Kamala Harris became VP in 2021)
24
Q
Party discipline
A
- party discipline has traditionally been weak, as the ability of whips and leaders to influence their membership is limited
- the separation of powers prevents party leaders from offering govt. positions to members of Congress in exchange for their support (unlike in the UK w/ PM’s patronage powers)
- as Congress has become more partisan, members have become more likely to vote along party lines
25
Q
Standing committees
A
- permanent, each focussed on a specific area of policy, eg. foreign affairs
- represented in the same proportions as in the Senate or House
- hold hearings during the committee stage of bills
- Senate standing committees consider presidential appointments
- permanency allows members to become experts in their policy area
- provide crucial oversight of the executive
26
Q
Select Committees
A
- most are temporary, and generally made up from members of the House
- usually investigate a specific question
- prevent the relevant standing committee from being overloaded by a single urgent issue
27
Q
Select Committee for Jan 6th attack
A
- in June 2021, the House voted to establish a select committee to investigate the assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters
- it was quite controversial and partisan as most House Republicans boycotted committee, because the Democrat Speaker didn’t let certain Republicans on the committee
28
Q
House Rules Committee
A
- a standing committee in the House of Reps with only 13 members
- favours the majority party in a 2:1 ratio
- determines how much time bills have on the floor and whether amendments are allowed (‘closed rules’ or not)
- in the 115th Congress, a record 56% of bills were debated under closed rules
29
Q
Conference Committees
A
- temporary, existing only to consider specific bills
- members come from both houses
- consider two version of the same bill (from each chamber) and merge them into one (a conference report)
30
Q
How do members of Congress perform their representative function?
A
- communicating with their constituents via town hall meetings, visits, and social media to better understand their views and represent them in Congress
- sitting on relevant standing committees (Pat Roberts, senator for Kansas (an agricultural state) was chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee)
- lobbying the government for funds that will benefit their constituents (often involves pork barreling)
31
Q
Pork Barrel politics
A
- lobbying the govt. for funds or policies that would benefit their constituents but are really unnecessary)
- projects are used as a political weapon to secure re-election
- for example, ‘the bridge to nowhere’, a proposed $400 million project that would have joined a town in Alaska to Gravina Island (home to 50 people). it was never built!
32
Q
Relationship of Congress to the Executive
A
- there is regular contact between the president’s administration and members of Congress
- the executive may subtly modify its legislation to win the support of Congresspeople
- the Office of Legislative Affairs (governmental department) lobbies members of Congress to vote for the president’s legislation
33
Q
Relationship of Congress to the Supreme Court
A
- the court can rule that acts of Congress are unconstitutional and therefore no longer law (like Obergefell v Hodges striking down the Defense of Marriage Act that gave states the right to refuse to recognise same-sex marriages)
- Congress could overturn the ruling of the court by passing an amendment, but this would be extremely difficult
- Congress can impeach and try judges of the SC, as well as confirming their appointments
