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AP Government and Politics > Unit 2 Ch. 4 Terms (Congress) > Flashcards

Unit 2 Ch. 4 Terms (Congress) Flashcards

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1
Q

Where is Congress dealt with in the Constitution?

A

Article I (first to be dealt with)

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2
Q

Congress is a what?

A

Bicameral legislature

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3
Q

What are the two chambers of Congress?

A

The House of Representatives and the Senate

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4
Q

How are House of Representatives people elected?

A

The House of Representatives
Directly elected by the eligible voters in their districts

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5
Q

How long is a House of Representatives term?

A

Two years

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6
Q

House of Representatives Requirements

A

Must be at least 25 years old
A resident of their state
A citizen of the united states for 7 years
The Constitution did not bar women from holding office, but it barred all but a few from participating in public life

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7
Q

Senate terms length

A

Elected for six year terms
Staggered so that a third are up for reelection every two years

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8
Q

how are members of The Senate elected?

A

In the original constitution, state legislatures elected senators. The Seventeenth Amendment (1913) replaced the indirect election of senators by state legislatures with direct popular election by a state’s eligible voters.

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9
Q

The Senate requirements

A

The Requirements:
Must be at least 30 years old
Citizens for at least 9 years
Must live in the state that they seek to represent
The constitution does not limit the number of terms a given representative or senator may serve

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10
Q

The powers of Congress (three broad areas)

A

Generally fall into 3 broad areas: lawmaking, budgeting, and exercising oversight of the federal bureaucracy and other public officials.

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11
Q

Pork Barrel Spending

A

legislation that directs specific funds to projects within districts or states

Controversial - criticized for putting narrow interests ahead of those of the nation’s voters.

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12
Q

Logrolling

A

combine multiple bills into one to get more votes
You COMBINE so that more people will be like yeahhhh

In 2011, the House of Representatives, led by Republicans, banned earmarks.

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13
Q

Earmarks

A

funds provided by Congress for projects or programs that impose a restriction on/curtail the ability of the Executive Branch to manage critical aspects of the funds allocation process

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14
Q

Oversight

A

efforts by Congress to ensure that executive branch agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments, as well as their officials, are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goals.

May conduct hearings and investigations for this purpose

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15
Q

How many members in the House of Representatives?

A

435 house members (now capped) - 700,000 constituents
Divided amongst POPULATION

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16
Q

How many Senators are there in the Senate?

A

100 (2 per state)

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17
Q

What are the steps for a bill to become law?

A

Introduced by a congress person
Committee Meetings
——-Hearings/Reports
——-Debates
Floor Debate and Vote
Goes to President
——-Sign or Veto (can over ride)

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18
Q

Speaker of the House

A

elected by majority of the house
Third in line of success after VP
If VP and Pres both die then speaker becomes president

Controls the house floor and committee assignments
Big powerful

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19
Q

Assistant to Speaker

A

House majority leader

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20
Q

Whip

A

ensures unity and party discipline
Essentially threatens members of their own party to get hwat they want

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21
Q

Vice President (role in Senate)

A

president of the senate (only breaks tie vote)
They count the votes (scorekeeper) and break ties.
President pro tempore = takes the VP’s place if they are absent
Chosen by (majority party of) the senate

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22
Q

Congressional Committees / Subcommittees

A

Hears bills about specific issues (edu, veterans, budget, environment, etc.)

Investigate impact of the bill (research and testimony)
Give recommendation to the floor (approve or reject)

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23
Q

House Rules Committee (star !)

A

Members chosen by Speaker of the House
Determine what bills will be heard and if amendment can be added

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24
Q

Committee of the Whole

A

Only needs 100 Reps present and easier to pass bills

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25
Q

Senate Filibuster

A

You can speak for as long as you have the floor - it’s unlimited
Has rule of unlimited debate (unlike house)
Any senator can pleace “hold” on bill to show concerns
Senator can filibuster (talk without stopping) to prevent vote
Must have ⅗ vote (60 senators) to override filibuster

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26
Q

Types of Committees

A

Standing, Joint, Conference, Select/Special

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27
Q

Standing Committee

A

Normal committees focusing on routine topics
Normal committees that always exist

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28
Q

Joint Committee

A

Members of both houses focusing on issue (call attention)
They’re investigating together to research an issue / call attention to an issue that they’re both interested in.

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29
Q

Conference Committee (star !)

A

Both houses leadership to resolve difference in bill

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30
Q

Select/Special Committee

A

temporary to deal with crisis or investigate issue

31
Q

Congressional Committees

A

Reviews legislation and issues about a specific topic

32
Q

Congressional Committees (list)

A

Ethics (rules for congress)
Homeland Security
Energy and Commerce
Education
Transportation and infrastructure
Agriculture
Foreign affairs
Small business
Science, Space, and Tech

33
Q

Enumerated/Expressed powers of Congress

A

Declaring war and providing military funds
NOT THE PRESIDENT – it’s congress!!
Passing a federal budget, borrowing money, lay taxes
Determine naturalization process
Regulate interstate commerce
Create federal courts and jurisdictions
Enact legislation that is “necessary and proper” to fulfill duty
Aka ELASTIC CLAUSE !
Conduct oversight and investigations of executive branch and bureaucracy

34
Q

Mandatory Spending

A

REQUIRED BY LAW to pay for entitlement programs
Social security, medicare (old people) , and medicaid (at or below the poverty line)
Third rail - you cant come for it without getting unelected
Because old people love voting !!

35
Q

Discretionary Spending

A

Approved annually for defense, education, infrastructure, erc.
Can fluctuate based on economic and tax conditions

36
Q

Models of Representation

A

Delegate Model, Trustee Model, Politico Model

37
Q

Delegate Model

A

Emphasizes the beliefs and desires of constituents
Will compromise personal beliefs to match those tey represent

38
Q

Trustee Model

A

Ephasizes the experience and wisdom of the representative
Willing to ignore “passions” of constituents and do “what’s right”
JFK wrote a book on this
Fienstien video - “I’m wise, you should just listen to me”

39
Q

Politico Model

A

Primarily focused on voting with their political party
Combines both of the other models

40
Q

Reapportionment

A

The change in the # of reps that each state has based on population

41
Q

What is done based on the Census?

A

of reps changes based on population

  • States can gain or lose representatives (700,000 per rep.), 435 is set number
42
Q

Redistricting

A

Redrawing the CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS (done by state legislature)

43
Q

Gerrymandering

A

Manipulate boundaries to favor one party/ group

  • crack or pack
44
Q

Lame Duck Period

A

Period between election and new elected officials taking office
Less bills and appointments

45
Q

Divided Government

A

control of the presidency and one or both chambers of Congrress split between the two major parties

46
Q

Gridlock

A

a slowdown or halt in Congress’s ability to legislate and overcome divisions, especially those based on partisanship.

47
Q

Bipartisanship

A

agreement between the parties to work together in Congress to pass legislation

48
Q

Politico role

A

representation where members of Congress balance their choices with the interests of their constituents and parties in making decisions

49
Q

Trustee role

A

the idea that members of Congress should act as trustees, making decisions based on their knowledge and judgement

50
Q

Delegate role

A

the idea that the main duty of a membrr of Congress is to carry out constituent’s wishes.

51
Q

Budget Surplus

A

the amount of money remaining when the government takes in more than it spends

52
Q

Budget deficit

A

the annual shortfall when a government takes in less money than it spends

53
Q

National Debt

A

the total amount of money owed by the federal government

54
Q

Entitlement Programs

A

a program that provides benefits for those who qualify under the law, regardless of income

55
Q

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

A

the executive branch office that assists the president in setting national spending priorities

56
Q

Cloture

A

a procedure through which senators can end a filibuster and proceed to action, provided 60 senators agree to it

57
Q

Unanimous Consent Agreement

A

an agreement in the Senate that sents the terms for consideration of a bill

58
Q

hold

A

a delay placed on legislation by a senator who objects to a bill

59
Q

Committee chairs

A

leader of a congressional committee who has authority over the committee’s agenda/processes.

60
Q

Senate Majority Leader

A

the person who has the most power in the Senate and is the head of the party with the most seats

61
Q

Minority Leader

A

the head of the party with the second-highest number of seats in congress, chosen by the Party’s members

62
Q

Political Action Committees (PACs)

A

an organization that raises money for candidates and campaigns

63
Q

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

A

The Supreme Court overturned the race-conscious drawing of a strangely shaped legislative district.

64
Q

Baker v. Carr (1961)

A

The Supreme Court has the authority to review state redistricting plans, and the equal protection clause requires legislative district boundaries to be drawn to have roughly the same number of constituents under the principle of “one man, one vote”

65
Q

Incumbency

A

being already in office as opposed to running for the first time // running for reelection as oiooised to running for the first time
Incumbents usually win

66
Q

Incumbency Advantage

A

institutional advantages held bby those already in office who are trying to fend off challengers in an election.

67
Q

Malapportionment

A

the uneven distribution of the population among legislative districts

68
Q

Minority district

A

a district in which voters of a minority ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district

69
Q

Partisan gerrymandering

A

drawing district boundaries into strange shapes to benefit a political party
And then more and more like minded people move to those districts

70
Q

Apportionment

A

the process of determining the number of representative for each state using census data

71
Q

Constituencies

A

a body of voters in a given area who elect a representative or senator

72
Q

Congress Checks and Balances

A

Congress is given the authority to declare war, and the Senate to ratify treaties, thus forcing the executive and legislative branches to work together in important aspects of foreign and national security policy.

Congress also has a role in the judicial system - has the power “to constitute Tribunals inferior to [below] the Supreme Court” (Article 1, Section 8) and sets the number of justices on the Supreme Court

The Senate - using its power of advice and consent - conforms presidential nominees to the federal courts by simple majority.

Exercises the same role of advice and consent in the confirmation of most presidential nominees to important posts in the federal bureaucracy, like cabinet secretaries

Congress has the power to remove federal officials (president, vice president, members of the bureaucracy, and federal judges) through impeachment.

73
Q
A

AP Government and Politics (16 decks)

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