The structure of Congress. Flashcards
what branch is congress a part of
The legislative branch
what does balanced bicameral structure mean
It has 2 chambers, an upper (senate) and a lower chamber of equal power (House of Representatives)
what Article mentions congress
Article 1 - it divides Congress into two chambers, the House of Representatives or the Senate, this bicameral system is known as the Connecticut Compromise.
what is the Connecticut compromise
that all states should have equal representation in the senate and proportional representation in the House of reps
what is the definition of enumerated powers
enumerated powers are what the Constitution specifically spells out for the federal government and Congress
how many members does the house have
how long are their terms
how long must you be a US citizen
435 members
2 year terms
us citizen for at least 7 years
how many members are there in the senate
how long are their terms
how long must you be a US citizen
100 members
serve 6 year terms
us citizen for 9 years
what is gerrymandering
changing the boundaries of a district for political advantage
1969 voting rights act
the 1969 voting rights act
ensured representation of minorities who might ghave suffered discrimination in the past by creating majority - minority districts
however
it unintentionally packed racial minorities into a small number of districts which minimised the minority representation in congress
what are the powers of congress in both chambers
law making - chambers are equal in terms of bills have to go through the same process in each
overseeing the exec branch - constitution implies that is has the power to oversee the exec in article 1 section 8; congress votes on all budgets of all exec branches
overriding presidents veto - both houses must have a 2/3rds majority vote eg congress overriding trumps veto to the $741 billion defence policy bill which removes Confederate names from bases
delcaring war
what are powers of just the house
choosing the president if the electoral college is deadlocked - if no candidate wins an absolute majority. only ever happened twice
bringing charges of impeachment - the two stage process, one of them happens in the house. The house has ‘the sole power of impeachment’
power of just the senate
confirming appointments to the judiciary and executive - eg Amy Coney Barret being confirmed by 52-48
try cases of impeachment - senate has ‘the sole power to try all impeachments’. they determine if they are guilty of the offence of which they have been accused by the house; if found guilty then they are removed
choosing a vice pres if deadlock - might seem like a lesser power than house but the vice pres is the pres of the senate so only makes sense that they get to choose them (only ever been done twice)
