Unit 2 Flashcards
What is the minimum age requirement to be a member of the Senate?
30 years old
How long is a Senate term?
6 years
What is the minimum age requirement to be a member of the House of Representatives?
25 years old
How many representatives are in the House of Representatives?
435 representatives
What is the term length for members of the House of Representatives?
2 years
What happens for a bill to become law?
Both houses agree on identical versions and the president signs it
True or False: The Senate allows unlimited debate on bills.
True
What does Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution enumerate as a power of Congress?
Pass a federal budget, raise revenue, coin money, declare war, raise and maintain armed forces
What is an implied power of Congress?
Create laws deemed necessary and proper
Who is the leader of the House of Representatives?
Speaker of the House
What role does the Speaker of the House play?
Recognizes who can speak and makes committee assignments
What is the function of the House Rules Committee?
Decides when votes take place and assigns bills to committees
What is a Discharge Petition?
A majority vote to take a bill out of committee and bring it to the floor
Who serves as the President of the Senate?
Vice President of the US
What is a filibuster?
An attempt to stall or kill a bill by talking for a long time
What is required to invoke the Cloture Rule? What is it?
A three-fifths vote to end a filibuster
What is a Standing Committee?
A committee that remains from session to session
What is a Joint Committee?
A committee that involves members from both the House and Senate
What is the purpose of a Conference Committee?
To resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill
What are Non-Germane Riders?
Provisions that have nothing to do with the subject of the bill
What is Pork-Barrel Spending?
Funds earmarked for a particular representative’s district
What does Logrolling refer to?
Voting for another representative’s bill in exchange for their vote
What does polarization in Congress affect?
Compromise between parties
What is gridlock in the context of Congress?
Difficulty passing laws that satisfy the needs of the people
Define Divided Government.
Opposing parties hold majorities in both houses or the president is from one party while Congress is majority from the opposing party
What is a Lame Duck President?
A president not seeking re-election, losing influence
What is the Delegate Model of representation?
Representative votes with the will of the people
What is the Trustee Model of representation?
Representative votes according to their own conscience
What is the Politico Model?
A hybrid of Delegate and Trustee models
What is Gerrymandering?
Drawing districts to benefit one party over another
What is the term for the policies that a candidate campaigns on?
Policy Agenda
This refers to the specific goals and plans a candidate proposes during their campaign.
What is the formal power that allows the president to reject legislation?
Power of the veto
The veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress.
What is required for Congress to override a presidential veto?
⅔ vote of each house
This means that both the House of Representatives and the Senate must achieve a two-thirds majority.
How many days does the president have to sign a bill once it reaches their desk?
10 days
If the president does not sign the bill within this time frame, it may lead to a pocket veto.
What is a pocket veto?
When the president doesn’t sign the bill in 10 days but Congress is not in session, so the bill fails
This mechanism effectively allows the president to prevent a bill from becoming law without formally vetoing it.
What role does the president serve as in military matters?
Commander-In-Chief
This role grants the president control over the armed forces.
What is one of the informal powers of the president?
Bargaining and persuasion
These skills are crucial for negotiating with Congress and other political actors.
What is an executive order?
A directive from the president that has the force of federal law, but is not actually a law
Executive orders allow the president to manage the operations of the federal government.
What is a signing statement?
An additional statement the president can offer when signing a bill into law
This statement may include the president’s interpretation of the law and intentions for its execution.
What is an executive agreement?
An agreement between the president and another head of state, not a formal treaty
Executive agreements do not require Senate approval unlike treaties.
What power is given to the Senate concerning presidential appointments?
Advice and Consent
This power requires that many presidential appointments must be approved by the Senate before taking effect.
