Unit 2 - Congress Flashcards
Congress
The legislative branch of the US government, they create federal laws, are based on Capitol Hill in Washington DC and is bicameral - consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate
Bicameral
Made up of 2 chambers
House of Representatives
The lower chamber of congress that is based on the size of the population of the state, there are currently 435 congressmen/congresswomen in total
Senate
The upper chamber, there are only 2 senators per state no matter the size and there are currently 100 of them
5 key bits of info about the House of Representatives
Represent a congressional district - a region of a state
Serve 2 year terms
Must have been a US citizen for 7 years
Must be a resident of the state they represent
Proportional representation in congress - number of representatives per state can sometimes change based on the size of the districts and them changing
5 key facts about the Senate
Represent an entire state
Serve 6 year terms but 1/3 of them are up for re election every 2 years
Must have been a US citizens for at least 9 years
Must be a resident of the state they represent
Equal representation in Congress
Why did the founding fathers design Congress in a way so that it has two chambers?
To increase representation in the House of Representatives (John Lockes idea) as the number of representatives depends on the size of the state
Some founding fathers wanted equal representation but some of them wanted more representation in larger states - thats why there are 2 chambers, as a compromise
What are the 3 roles of Congress?
Check the president and the executive branch
Create federal laws/pass legislation
Representing the people of their regions/states
What are the 10 powers of the congress?
- Law making
- Overseeing the executive branch
- Override the presidents veto
- Confirming appointments
- Ratifying treaties
- Initiating amendments
- Impeachments
- Confirming vice presidents
- Declaring war
- Electing the president and vice president if there is a deadlock
What does powers of the congress mean?
Things that congress is granted the ability to do based on the 3 roles that they have to fulfil
What is meant by congress having the powers of law making?
Both houses are equal in passing legislation meaning that all bills must pass through all stages of both houses and they cant override each other - granted in article 1 of constitution
What is meant by congress having the power of overseeing the executive branch?
Granted due to it being implied in the constitution, said that a legislative body may investigate any subject that has some power over legislature, through checks and balances - occurs exclusively only in committee rooms
What is meant by congress having the power to override the presidents veto?
Both houses must vote by a two thirds majority to override the presidents veto of a bill
What is meant by congress having the power to confirm appointments?
The senate alone have the power to confirm (by a simple majority) appointments made y the president like appointing someone to the Supreme Court, the president must seek the senates approval to replace vacancy’s in the federal judiciary
What is meant by congress having the power of ratification?
The senate ONLY has the power to ratify (by a two thirds majority) all treaties negotiated by the president so they must be kept fully uniformed throughout treaty negotiations
What is meant by congress having the power to initiate amendments?
The houses are co equal when it come to initiating amendments, a constitutional amendment must be approved by a two thirds majority in each before it can be sent for ratification
What is meant by congress having the power of impeachment?
Congress can impeach and remove all civil officers of the US for treason, bribery or high crimes - the house initiate the impeachment and can condemn executives for their actions but the senate trial the executive and find them either guilty or innocent - congress cannot be impeached as they are not officer sof the US but representatives
What is meant by congress having the power of confirming vice presidents?
Twenty fifth amendment of 1967 gave the power to confirm newly appointed vice presidents and also gave the power to Congress to fill the vacancy of a vice president if the current vice president becomes president
What is meant by congress having the power to declare war?
Both houses must agree to declare war (last time it happened was 1941 where US declared war on Japan) but this power has slowly been taken away and given to the president
What is meant by congress having the power to elect a president and vice president if there is a deadlock?
If no candidate wins the absolute majority of electoral college votes then the house has the power to elect the president and senate elect the vice president
Electoral college
The group of people concerned with electing the president
What party has the majority in the House of Representatives?
Republicans
Which party has the majority in the Senate?
Democrats
Who are the key individuals of the House of Representatives and their roles?
Speaker - Mike Johnson - Republican (speaker always come from the majority party)
Majority Whip - Elise Stefanik - Republican
Majority Leader - Steve Carlisle - Republican
Minority Whip - Katherine Clark - Democrat
Minority Leader - Hakeem Jeffries - Democrat
Who are the key individuals of the Senate and their roles?
Majority leader - Chuck Schumer - Democrat
Majority Whip - Dick Durbin - Democrat
Minority Leader - Mitch McConnell - Republican
Minority Whip - John Thune - Republican
What are the 3 key roles in both of the houses?
Speaker
Leader
Whip
What is the role of the speaker?
The most high profile leadership position in congress, they determine the legislative agenda and choose members of committees, they are second only to the vice president in the line of presidential succession
Can be limited by party and executive - e.g. Paul Ryan resigned as speaker in Nov 2018 due to pressures from executive and because he was trying to push unpopular Trump policies like the border wall
Hastert Rule - Republican convention where a floor vote cannot be done unless a majority of the majority party supports it e.g. used in 2013 by speaker John Boehner to refuse to table a immigration reform bill
What is the role of the leader?
They plan the legislative agenda and coordinate their party, trying to achieve party unity to achieve its legislative aims
Legislation that doesn’t have the support of party leaders is unlikely to be successful
2017 - Mitch McConnell who was the majority leader passed tax cuts and jobs act with no involvement from White House
What is the role of the Whip?
Assistant leaders who occasionally stand in for leaders in their absence and assist them in their role
Why is underrepresentation in Congress viewed as an issue in America?
Some may feel underrepresented and thus legislation may never be passed for the ethnic minorities as 2/3 of the congress may not agree
Some may feel like they dont have a place in politics due to not seeing people like them in congress
Demotivates people from voting
Why is there underrepresentation in congress?
-Women and AAs are underrepresented in the state legislatures
-Senators represent whole states so - the house will better represent different types of people due to the congressional districts which may be separated based on different areas being populated with different people BUT senate represent whole states which are often more populated with white, suburban people
-Congress’ cultures and traditions have been slow to adapt making it off-putting to female members (the Senate swimming pool was male-only until 2009)
-Senators have to be physically present to vote adversely affecting new parents, however in 2018 Tammy Duckworth convinced the Senate to change its rules to allow young children in the chamber for parents to vote
What are some statistics that prove congress is underrepresented?
27% of congress is women but 51% of the population are women
88% of congress is Christian but 71% of the population is Christian
0.2% of congress are atheist but 23% of the US is atheist
Average age of congress is 59 but its 38 for the US population
99% of congress have a uni degree but only 35% of adults over 25 have a uni degree in the US
What are some statistics that prove congress is well represented?
23% of the congress is people of colour and 23% of the US population is people of colour
Ear marking
Allows members of congress to fund projects in their local states or districts, they can add amendments to appropriations bills to grant funds
When was ear marking reintroduced? Who agreed to its reintroduction?
Reintroduced in 2021 - both republicans and democrats agreed to the reintroduction of earmarking in the House of Representatives
What is the effect of earmarking on representation in Congress?
Allows members of congress to use their knowledge of their community to direct funds to where they are most needed - federal officials are less likely to be able to do this as they are less in contact with constituents
Negatives of earmarking?
It can however lead to wasteful spending (pork barrel)
How did the Democrats reform ear markings when they reintroduced it?
It is not ensured that there strict transparency so that funds aren’t spent to benefit just the representatives and their families - stops people from unfairly dominating funds
Pros of the changes to district boundaries in 2021?
The Democrats have a greater majority now (went from 6 to 7)
It’s a fair process in the states that are controlled by more than one party or allow an independent to redraw district lines
Cons of the changes to district boundaries in 2021?
Most states that gain seats are Republican leaning and those that lose them are typically Democrat - not fair
States are responsible for redrawing district boundaries but this can lead to gerrymandering (the manipulation of an electoral constituency boundary to benefit one party)
Republicans control redistricting in 20 states whereas the Democrats control only 8
Republicans control the state legislatures in 8 of 13 states that will see a change in the number of seats they have in the 2022 elections
Democrats tried to pass a ‘for the people act’ in 2021 to make independents draw the line boundaries it passed through the house with a small majority but failed the senate
Who is Lisa Murkowski?
Republican Senator for Alaska
What is the case study of Lisa Murkowski?
She voted against the American healthcare act
She impeached Trump
^^ didnt represent the views of the republicans in her state
Her decisions led to native Americans having their oil licenses in the far north of alaska suspended
^^ didn’t represent the Native Americans in her state well
Conclusion: is America well represented in Congress?
Yes - particularly the 117th congress, is very diverse and thus more representative than the predecessors. However, the American society is becoming more and more diverse as each day goes by and congress does its best in catching up and staying as equally diverse, but this is sometimes not doable. Particularly in the senate it may be hard to represent the idea of everyone in the state because there are only 2 per state. I also think te reintroduction of earmarking has been a step towards even more representation as congressmen and congresswomen can better satisfy the needs of their constituents than government officials in the executive branch. However, congress could be rearranged to make it more representative and independent politicians could be used to draw boundary lines rather than members of parties as they will typically be partisans and will re arrange the boundaries for the benefit of their party.
How many stages are there of the legislative process?
6 - but the 5th stage is optional - so most commonly 5 stages are used
What are the stages of the legislative process?
- Introduction
- Committee stage
- Time tabling
- Floor debate and the vote on passage
- Conference committee
- Presidential action
What is the introduction stage of the legislative process?
A pure formality
Involves placing a bill in a ‘hopper’ on the clerks desk
The bills are numbered, printed and circulated to the appropriate standing committee
What is the committee stage of the legislative process?
This is the most important stage
More bills fail than at any other stage in the process
Some of the bills are pigeon held (put to one side) with no action being taken due to the volume of bills
The bills with a lot of support are given hearings in the full committee or sub committee, once this is complete, a mark up session is held
Mark up session = changes are made, reports from the committees focus on the cost of the bill, its aims, review amendments and propose next steps
What is the timetabling stage of the legislative process?
Every house has only one floor so there is often a traffic jam for bills waiting to be heard
The senate have a unanimous consent agreement where the majority and minority leaders agree on the order bills will be debated to fix this issue
Representatives have house rules committee which can allow or hold back bills - a popular bill may have a discharge petition to be debated immediately e.g. 2015 where one was done to force a vote to reauthorise America’s export-import bank
What is the floor debate and vote on passage stage of the legislative process?
Both, full chambers debate the bill
Amendments can be made
Votes are taken at the end of the debate with a simple majority being required
Senators can use filibuster to delay a bill e.g. 2016 - 2 senators spoke for 15 hours to press for tighter gun control
Filibusters can be ended by closure positions (require super majorities) or simple majorities (introduced in 2013) or by banning filibustering e.g. 2017 - in the Neil Gorsuch confirmation into the Supreme Court debate, it was banned
What is the conference committee stage of the legislative process?
Declined in popularity over the last 20 years when Republicans took control of both houses and wanted a more leadership driven approach
In this stage, one of the chamber has to endorse the legislation passed by the other, then the bill is sent to the president
What is the presidential action stage of the legislative process?
Where the President has 3-4 options of what they can do with the bill
What are the 4 options the President has in the presidential action stage of the legislative process?
- Can sign it into law, if they fully support it and want credit for it e.g. Obamas affordable care act of 2010
- Can ‘leave the bill on their desk’ if they think their veto will be overridden or if they are indifferent - these bills become law without the presidents signature e.g. national defense Authorization act for fiscal year 2021 no signature by trump - veto overridden - modernised military capability and reformed oversight processes
- May veto a bill, can force changes to the bill, where the Congress then puts right the wrongs, they can try override the veto by a two thirds majority or accept the presidents decisions e.g. overrode Bush’s veto of the 2008 Medicare improvements bill e.g. sustained trumps veto of the Iran war powers resolution which would limit the presidents ability to use military force against Iran without congressional approval
- Can ‘pocket veto’, if the bill is awaiting action after the legislative session ends, it is lost and cannot be overridden e.g. Clinton in 2000 on the consumer bankruptcy overhaul bill (last time it was used)
Why does the legislative process limit congress?
The sheer volume of bills that come into Congress - will never be able to debate them all
Complicated progress - this results in a ‘legislative labyrinth’
There is a need for super majority votes e.g. to stop filibuster or presidential veto
Decentralisation of power in Congress, power shared between both houses and both parties
Both houses possess equal power - different to Parliament as one cannot outrule the other
Both houses can be controlled by different parties - leads to Gridlock
Houses not necessarily controlled by the same party as president - leads to pingponging
Filibuster
Debating a bill for a long time so that it cannot be passed or voted upon, its said to protect minorities or help reach a compromise e.g. Senator Strom Thurmond staged one for over 24hrs against the civil rights legislation in 1957 - record time
Bill vs Law
Bill - before it becomes law of the land
Law - has become law of the land
Why has the legislative process become increasingly difficult?
Partisanship was less common and people could agree on legislation - could amendments and scrutinise it when agreeing
Now it is too difficult due to hyper partisanship, overlaps are less common and amendments are rarely agreed upon
Why does the legislative process have to be somewhat difficult?
To ensure that there is no tyranny
So that no unnecessary law is passed that will lead to a waste in government funds or may destroy the political system of the US
Why is the legislative process too difficult?
To end filibustering, it requires a super majority - these are highly unlikely due to hyperpartisanship where there is very little overlap
It’s also difficult due to the congress and the president possibly being part of different parties, can’t agree and leads to ping ponging
For a bill to passed it must have a support from the majority, meaning bills for ethnic minorities that aren’t represented in Congress have a little chance of being passed
Silent filibuster
Introduced in 1972 by the Senate which means that real filibuster is less common, a senator can filibuster by notifying Senate leaders that they intend to block a vote but only if they have the support of 40 Senators e.g. 2013 - Senator Paul of Kentucky and others held the floor for over a day due to the concerns od the use of aerial drones
How does Biden want to change the filibuster?
By making a reform to it, so that filibusters over privacy rights and abortion protections can be removed by a simple majority, but not enough senators support this
Power of the purse
The power that belongs to Congress which means they have the ability to control the spending of the federal budget through changing taxation
Key info on Power of the Purse?
Only Congress can raise revenue
Ensures that peoples representatives give their consent to taxation where people can make a decision through representatives
All tax bills must start in the House to draw up the bill then the Senate can amend tax bills but they have to be agreed upon by both houses
Congress can refuse to pass the budget - resulting in government shutdowns e.g. 2018 - the last government shut down
Case study: 2018 government shutdown
The length of government shutdowns has crept up over the last decade - December 2018 (most recent) lasted 35 days, the longest ever
800,000 workers were affected by the government shutdown
380,000 were furloughed meaning they couldn’t work or get paid
Hurricanes modellers were sent away from the NOAA and government employees who managed forest fires were affected
Science professionals removed - 1,800 NFS staff sent home without the option to work voluntarily
National park service and EPA were furloughed during the shutdown
Businesses are also affected e.g. 10% decline in average spending per household in 2013 shutdown
Government shutdown
Anyone who works for the government cannot work and doesnt get paid
Reasons why Congress uses power of the Purse effectively?
It is a powerful check on the power of the executive
The executive may make concessions to avoid a shutdown
Shutdowns are relatively rare - President usually agrees to Congress to avoid shutdowns=
Reasons why Congress doesnt use Power of the Purse effectively?
Shutdowns are disruptive and can be lengthy if president is stubborn
The threat of shutdown is present during every budget negotiation
Presidents are unable to reduce the size of the federal budget, so US debt continues to increase
Trumps use of emergency powers to bypass Congress has created a precedent for future presidents - he wanted to fund his wall so used executive powers to get the money
Oversight
Congressional review and investigation of the activities of the executive branch of government
Key info on oversight?
It’s an implied power in the constitution
Congress has given itself 3 powers within oversight
Takes place in committee rooms
What are the 3 powers Congress has given itself within oversight?
- Subpoenaing documents and testimony
- Holding individuals in contempt
- Making it illegal to lie in Congress
Subpoena
The idea that one must provide all evidence, information and documents to Congress if they wish upon investigation
Holding individuals in contempt
The idea that one cannot lie to the Congress or they can be punished
What are the 4 powers within oversight?
- Investigation
- Confirmation
- Impeachment
- Ratification
What is meant by investigation in oversight?
Standing and select committees investigate the actions of the executive, committees will hold hearings and can subpoena witnesses to provide information for their investigations
What are the positives and negatives of investigations in oversight?
Pros: one cannot lie to Congress or can have a possible prison sentence, Congress can subpoena witnesses, threat of investigation motivates executive to ensure it’s actions are reasonable, televised hearings may occur for government officials & GAO (Government Accountability Office) supports Congress to investigate the executive
Cons: some investigations are used to smear political opposition with bad publicity,some investigations don’t produce tangible results, large workload when overseeing all of executive branch & GAO has reduced in size - staff in the GAO were cut by 45% between 1975 and 2015
Example of investigation in oversight?
January 2021 - House Committee on Oversight and Reform requested information on contracts with the federal government regarding purchase of ventilators not suitable for treating Covid - these purchases of nearly $70 million are being investigated for fraud
What is meant by confirmation in oversight?
Senate provides advice and consent on presidential appointments
What are the positives and negatives of confirmation within oversight?
Pros: Senate confirmation encourages Presidents to nominate a high-quality individual & Undergoes media scrutiny which does a check of the individual’s past
Cons: highly criticised for its politicisation (done on party differences) & president whose party controls the senate generally has their nominees confirmed, even if the nominee is a controversial choice
Examples of confirmation in oversight?
When Trumps secretary, billionaire Betsy DeVos displayed a lack of knowledge of basic education policy during her 2017 confirmation hearing and argued that guns in schools would protect students from bears
What is meant by impeachment within oversight?
When Congress can investigate and remove executive officials including the president if their actions are deemed unconstitutional, the House start the investigation but the Senate make the final judgment - no President has ever been removed due to impeachment
What are the positives and negatives of impeachment in oversight?
Pros: Congress can impeach and try the president for ‘treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanours’
Cons: If not gone to court charges can be dropped, many impeachments can be based on party differences (politicised), if the Presidents party has the majority in the Senate then they may not be penalised
Example of impeachment within oversight?
Trump was acquitted by the Senate in his first impeachment trial in a high partisan vote - all but one Republican voting to acquit and all Democrats voting to convict
Trump impeached twice
What is meant by ratification within oversight?
The president negotiates treaties but the senate must ratify and confirm them
What are the positives and negatives of ratification within oversight?
Pros: president is forced to work with the Senate & Senate has some say over what happens - they are able to reject treaties
Cons: Recent presidents have used their direct authority to bypass ratification and make executive agreements instead of treaties - hinders the power of the Senates oversight
Examples of ratification in oversight?
The Senate has rejected many international treaties, like the treaty of Versailles in 1920 and the 1999 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and how they refused to give rights to disabled people
Reason why Congress does fulfil their oversight function effectively?
-There is strong oversight during periods of divided government
-Investigations provide high profile scrutiny
-Congress is better able to check a president if he is unpopular ar the end of his presidency
-Impeachment is effective e.g. fear of impeachment and investigation stopping the executive from committing crimes
-President must work closely with the senate during key treaty negotiations
-Senate can refuse to confirm presidential appointments
Reason why Congress doesn’t fulfil their oversight function effectively?
-Oversight is weaker during periods of unified government - trifecta - e.g. Trump-Vance administration
-Congress’ lack of popularity makes it difficult to attack a popular president e.g. Trumps impeachment was very unpopular amongst his supporters
-Investigations can be politicised and partisan - based on party differences and biased
-Investigations can yield few results
-No president has ever been removed from office as a result of impeachment
-Political allegiance can influence impeachment trials e.g. Trump
-The Senate has refused to ratify reasonable treaties e.g. rights for disabled people
-The number of oversight employees has been reduced
What is a case study of oversight?
January 6th 2021
What happened on January 6th 2021?
Donald Trumps supporters stormed the Captiol Building after he lost the election, on the day he was meant to essentially admit defeat in Congress - started as a protest but then developed into a storming of the building after he said he won the election and fraud was committed
What did oversight do in the case of January 6th 2021?
-Representatives investigated this e.g. Bennie Thompson - Democrat
-The committee found video evidence where the police were on the ground, they were attacked and stripped from their badges - some were unconscious - videos from bodycams
-Found out that Trump pressured senior officials to reverse the votes including VP Pence - found out there was a phone call alongside the Department for Justice
-Found out that members of the Congress said goodbye to their families and they thought that they would die
-They found out Trump summoned the meeting and wanted the protesters there - said it should be peaceful but followed it up with ‘fight, fight, fight’
What will happen after the investigation of January 6th 2021? Positives and negatives
Positives: Trump has been charged with four criminal counts, including conspiracy to defraud the US and conspiracy against the rights of citizens, Department of Justice (DoJ) Special Counsel Jack Smith interprets the Supreme Court to say Trump acted as a private citizen and not as a president when he undertook the alleged scheme to sway the election - doesn’t have immunity
Negatives: Trump has denied wrongdoing and claimed the Biden administration is behind the prosecution - He previously pled not guilty to all charges, Trump launched an appeal in this case, claiming he had broad immunity from prosecution as president - due to a 1982 precedent that recognised immunity in civil cases, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Trumps pardon of himself, If Trump wins re-election he could in theory pardon himself or order all these charges to be dismissed
Gerrymandering
Redrawing electoral constituency boundaries to benefit one party
What are the 6 factors that affect voting in Congress?
- Political parties
- The administration
- Pressure groups
- Colleagues and staff
- Personal beliefs
- Constituents
How do political parties affect voting in Congress?
There are party unity votes along party lines due to contentious issues like the Federal Information Systems Safeguard Act 2016
Little incentives to part voting
The number of party votes increased from 45-50% to 78.6% in the 15 years - increased party cohesion and partisanship
Parties can be split e.g. Jim Cooper was a conservative Democrat and often votes in favour of Republicans
How does the administration affect voting in Congress?
The administration stays connected with congress and tries to persuade them to vote a certain way
White House can get involved through the office of legislative affairs
They offer favours in return for members voting their way
They speak with both parties as success in Congress occurs when there is bipartisanship
How do pressure groups affect voting in Congress?
They make direct contact with any members of Congress to generate public support for their position by making visits or phone calls, or organising rallies etc.
Any money raised in fundraising is used to fund politicians to support the cause of the pressure groups and they try destroy those who arent
How do colleagues and staff affect voting in Congress?
Congresspeople rely on staff members with the same views to remember information or research
Senior members mentor newer members
House members can work with other members of their state delegation
How do personal beliefs affect voting in Congress?
Many members vote based on their own beliefs and philosophies
Don’t refer to anyone else and don’t succumb to pressures
How do constituents affect voting in Congress?
There are 2 model of representation: delegate model (legislators follow constituents preferences) or the trustee model (legislators make their own judgments) - there are constituents with varying views so hard to represent all
Representing constituents is important as congresspeople face reelections every 2 years
Must have a good awareness of views and values of constituents as they must live there
The administration
Executive officials who initiate legislation that is voted upon by Congress - known as the cabinet
State legislators
Those who make laws for states and often run for Congress
What is pork barrel politics?
Undertaking projects that benefit a group of citizens in return for that groups support or campaign donation e.g. if you vote one way, we will give money to fund something for your state/region
Example of pork barrel politics?
2005 - Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens’s ’bridge to nowhere’ directed $223 million to building a bridge in a remote town of Ketchikan with a population of 8,900 to the island of Gravina which has a population of 50
What way does pork barrel politics affect Congress?
-Policies are funded based on political factors like the seniority or power of the person promoting it rather than its merits
-Some say it enables legislation to move through Congress as it can be used a means of bribing
-It can be good as it led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act 1964 when it was used to overcome the filibuster of the bill in senate
Pork barrelling vs earmarking
Earmarking is seen as positive and was rebranded in 2022 as community project funding
Pork barrel politics is seen as a bad thing - connotations of bribery and a waste of funds
What are the different types of party leadership?
Majority and minority leader
Majority and minority whip
Speaker of the house
What are the 3 ways in which parties may or may not influence voting in Congress?
- Party leaders
- Partisanship
- Caucuses
What are reasons why party leaders may influence votes in Congress and encourage partisanship?
-Senate leaders determine who will sit in different committees with the majority leader having the final say, may be biased to their own parties
-they use their powers of persuasion to convince members to support the party’s agenda, may make people vote on party lines
-members can be threatened with withdrawal of party support in their next campaign to in a progress to move up the hierarchy
What are reasons why party leaders may not influence votes in Congress and encourage bipartisanship?
-both party leaders must agree on who shall sit in different committees so sometimes work together e.g. January 6th investigative committee - cross party
-not many incentives to vote on party lines from the leaders
What are reasons why partisanship may influence votes in Congress and encourage partisanship?
-number of party unity votes has increased drastically since the 2000s
-partisanship is on the rise due to pork barrel politics and bribery for voting one way to get incentives like money or a higher position
What are reasons why partisanship may not influence votes in Congress and encourage bipartisanship?
-Problem Solvers Caucus set up in 2017 - promoted bipartisanship
-First Step Act of 2018 - compromise between party leaders on reforms to criminal justice system
-there are cases of a lack of partisanship e.g. Lisa Markowski who voted to impeach Trump and voted against the American Healthcare Act
-CARES Act promoted bipartisanship in times of emergency - stimulated the economy and was passed unanimously
-select committees and other committees have members of both parties - allows them to work more closely - e.g. January 6th Select Committee
What are reasons why Caucuses may influence votes in Congress and encourage partisanship?
-House and Senate Caucus’s - there one for each party in each of the chambers - divides the congresspeople
-House Freedom Caucus - 45 conservative Republicans with a commitment to limited government - opposed Trumps budget in 2018 that forced Republicans to rely on Democrats
-Congressional Progressive Caucus - 100 progressive Democrats
What are reasons why Caucuses may not influence votes in Congress and encourage bipartisanship?
-Problem Solvers Caucus
-Congressional Black Caucus - consists of 55 members from both parties (even though there are only 4 Republicans in it)
-Bipartisan Heroin Task Force
Party unity votes
All members of a party voting the same, one way or another
Caucus
Members of Congress who work together to achieve similar legislative aims
What are the 3 committees in Congress?
- Standing committees
- Conference committees
- Select committees
Why are committees important in US politics?
The role of committees is very important - they play a large role in legislation and Congress wouldn’t work without them
Committee make decisions - house approves the committees
What are standing committees and what are their roles?
-Permanent policy specialist committee of Congress splaying key roles in legislation and investigation
-They are divided into sub committees
-Typical senate standing committee has 18 members, typical house standing committee has 30-40 members
-Members seek assignments on committees that are close to the interest of their states of congressional districts
-3 functions of standing committees: conduct investigations in committee policy area, conduct committee stage of the bills in the legislative process, confirm presidential appointments
What are the 2 types of standing committees? List examples of sub committees in these standing committees
-E.g. Senate Standing committee - armed services, finance and foreign relations
-E.g. House Standing committee - there is one for budget, veterans affairs and infrastructure
What does the Senate Standing Committee on Finance do?
It concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generally such as the bonded debt of the United States, collection districts, ports of entry and delivery and deposit of public moneys
What is a House Rules Committee and what is its roles?
-Only in the house of representatives
-Set rules on bills on how much time they have on the floor and if amendments are allowed to those bills
-An example of a standing committee
-Call open rules to allow unlimited amendments, call closed rules to not allow amendments, call modified rules to limit number of amendments and decide who can propose them as well as what sections can be amended
-Membership of 13 which is weighted in favour of the majority party e.g. 2017 where Pete Sessions chaired it
-Speaker controls the committee and determines what is debated
-The house can force a bill to be debated if an absolute majority of the congresspeople sign a discharge petition
-Gives the minority party less ability to shape policy
How many bills were closed bills in 2017-2019?
2017-2019 - 56% of bills were debated under closed rules
What is a conference committee and what are its roles?
-They are required for both houses to have an equal power
-These committees are set up in the conference stage of the legislative process
-They are required to pass bills through both houses concurrently
-By the time the bill has passed through each house, there is different versions of it
-Conference committee is set up to consider and choose only one of the bills that are produced at the end of each house
-Conferees are drawn from both houses and their function is to reconcile the differences between the house and the senate versions of the bill
-They are set up only once ‘ad hoc’ and they have declined in popularity since 1992
What are select committees and their roles?
-These are sometimes known as special or investigative committees, they are set up to investigate a particular issue, they are often created within one chamber but there are sometimes joint select committees
-They investigate if the standing committees doesn’t cover that policy area or if the policy the standing committee investigates is time consuming
-There are some permanent select committees, there are 4 in the senate and 1 in House, there is one for intelligence in both
-They are generally temporary and focus on specific, urgent issues unlike the UK where they’re responsible for oversight and in particular one area of policy
-They dont work on legislation but investigate the issue in question same as UK
-They are a powerful incentive for the executive to ensure its actions are constitutional by providing detailed hearings
-Investigations can be politicised - said to be based on party differences - reduces credibility and can be divided in their reports
-Reports may be divided and unclear - doesn’t effectively oversee the executive branch
What is an example of a select committee?
-2014 House Select Committee on Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi
-it caused the death of the American ambassador of LIbya, and three other Americans
-Hillary Clinton questioned in 2015 for 11 hours as she was foreign secretary at the time
-reports finished in 2016 but were divided based on party lines
What are Committee Chairs?
A congressperson who appears in standing committees, they are always drawn from the majority party of each house. This role brings powers, perks and publicity and is seen as the pinnacle of congressional careers.
Based on what rule are committee chairs chosen?
Seniority rule = the chair of a congressional standing committee is the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on that committee
The public does not elect these - somewhat not fair
What have republicans done to change the way committee chairs work? Positives and negatives?
They introduced a three term limit (the chair can serve for 6 years)
So, when they are in the majority, House Republicans use a Steering Committee to determine committee chairs
Positives: avoids having a power hoarding system where one holds too much power
Negatives: it prevents them from developing a lot of expertise in that area meaning that they cannot perform oversight as effectively as Democrats
What are the powers of committee chairs?
Controlling the committees agenda
Control the budget
Influence bills and meetings
Supervise meetings
Serve as a spokesperson
What is an example of a perk of being a committee chair?
E.g. Pete Sessions (served 2013-2019) received millions of dollars from pressure groups and corporate donors and prevented amendments that would have relaxed federal laws against marijuana
What are the powers that the Senate and the House share?
-Impeachment
-Declare war
-Law making
-Oversee executive branch
-Override the veto
-Play a role in appointed the president and vice president if there is an electoral college deadlock
-Elect vice president if the vice president becomes president
-Initiate amendments
What are the powers that belong to the Senate alone?
-Ratification
-Confirm appointments
-Make the final decision if the executive official should be impeached
-Elect vice president in a deadlock
-Amend money bills
What are powers that belong to the House alone?
-Start impeachments
-Elect President in a deadlock
-Only house can initiate money bills
Reasons why the Senate is more prestigious than the House?
-30 years old - have to have more experience
-They have more powers than the House
-There are only 100 representatives so it’s harder to become one
-6 years in senate so they have more time to fulfil their promises and their beliefs
-People want to more from the house to senate, not the other way around however e.g. Claude Pepper was a senator and supported the new deal but was not reelected as he was too left wing so became a representative
-Senators have a higher public profile as there’s only 2 of them per state
-More likely to get a leadership role such as committee chairs there is fewer to choose from
-Obama & Biden came from the Senate and so have other presidents
-Vice presidents also come from the senate (4 of the last ones) like Kamala Harris
Reasons why the Senate is not more prestigious than the House?
-House have 2 year terms so they have more pressure on them to fulfil their policy promises
-Both houses have the same powers in a lot of cases e.g. both have to approve initiating amendments, both represent, both conduct oversight
-Both receive the same salary
-Both have equal power in passing legislation - Congress’s key function
-AOC - a lot of coverage on her even though she’s a representative and not a senator - they can have equally the same coverage
What are the 5 criterion that can be used to compare the legislatures of the UK and the US?
- How far they resemble their voters
- How well they represent their voters
- How effective their scrutiny of the executive is
- How efficient their law making is
- How well regarded they are by voters
Compare how far the legislatures of the UK and the US resemble their voters.
UK - Largely more male, white and older but becoming diverse, Representation of women is better than America, 13% of MPs from ethnic backgrounds compared to 14% of the electorate, Less gender divergence, Better resembles than Congress, represented in the lords with 6% of them being from ethnic minorities, Average age of lords is 70 and age of commons is 51, doesnt represent females well: 29% of lords is female, 40% of commons is female. Ethnic minorities are particularly under represented in the lords with 6% of them being from ethnic minorities, 29% MPs in the UK have been private schooled compared to the 5% of the public
US - largely more male white and older but becoming more diverse, 1/4 of Congress female after 2020 election compared to half of the electorate, 1/4 of Congress from ethnic backgrounds compared to 33% of electorate, Disparity between parties is more extreme with fewer female republicans, average age of Congress is 60 but 38 for population and only 27% of the congress is female but 51% of the population is female
Compare how well the legislatures of the UK and the US represent their voters.
UK - doesnt have a representative system of electing MPs as they use first past the post where an MP may be elected even if a lot of constituents didnt vote for them, lords not elected so dont represent, more representatives for a smaller population, regress of grievances, regular surgeries, majoritarian system so two largest parties are overrepresented but there is a broader range of parties in parliament
US - can use earmarking to set aside funds for local projects for their constituents, larger population but less representatives e.g. California has 20 million residents per senator whilst in the UK an mp on average governs over 90,000 constituents, majoritarian system so two largest parties are overrepresented and third parties arent present in congress (underrepresented)
Compare how effective the legislatures of the UK and the US scrutinise the executive.
UK - fusion of powers where PM is head of the executive and the legislative, can remove through a vote of no confidence, parliamentary questions and PMQs are effective as they are open to the public - allow executive to be held to account regularly rather than once they’ve done something wrong, has select committees (positive and negative), parliamentary sovereignty, PM must be aware of the power of backbenchers, PM must enjoy the confidence of the House of Commons
US - checks and balances more effective, separation of powers, checks and balances does lead to gridlock so may not be entirely effective, has the 4 types of oversight, able to checks a president through impeachment which removes the presidents separate mandate, impeachments harder than VoNC due to partisanship, congressional hearings can summon high profile executive officials, documents can be subpoenaed, more power of overriding veto
Compare how effective the law making of the legislatures of the UK and the US are.
UK - lack of cooperation between houses leads to Parliamentary ping pong, the commons can overrule the lords, parliamentary sovereignty, healthy majorities, strong party discipline, Parliament can get stuff done, budget vote is a confidence vote so any failures would result in removal from government, push through emergency legislation quickly, PMBs
US - gridlock due to checks and balances, to propose an amendment 3/4 of states must agree, the senate and house have equal power in legislation, filibusters limit the passing of bills and require 3/5ths of senators to invoke closure not a simple majority, bills take a long time to pass, can quickly push through emergency legislation quickly largely ignoring the partisan divide, as seen during the global health epidemic in both countries, hyperpartisanship
Compare how well regarded the legislatures of the UK and the US are.
UK - the Lords are not well regarded by voters and they are not well regarded by many MPs, there have even been attempts to remove the House of Lords all together and replace it with a fully elected second chamber e.g. what Keir Starmer had in the manifesto, Other attempts to reform such as white paper in 2007 and free vote 2003, Much of the public do not like parliament due to legislature that is passed possibly negatively effecting them e.g price increases or tax increases such as the poll tax in the 1990, 1 in 7 people in YouGov poll have something positive to say about Lords
US - both chambers are well regarded by voters but the senate is seen by more powerful than the house, in 2020 congress approval rating was 19%
Similarities and differences between the legislatures of the UK and the US using a structural approach?
- Both parts of Congress enjoy significant concurrent power over legislation and have powerful committees however the Commons is the dominant chamber in the UK and the Lords has had few real powers since the 1911 Parliament Act resulting in differences in the effectiveness of the legislative process
- The executive in the UK is found in the legislature whereas it is completely separate in the US meaning that no member of the US cabinet can be in Congress resulting in differences in the effectiveness of scrutiny
- In the US more power lies with the 50 states making Congress less important whereas in the UK, Westminster still dominates resulting in differences in their effectiveness
Similarities and differences between the legislatures of the UK and the US using a rational approach?
- Politicians in both countries are self interested actors who will vote on whatever will have the most beneficial outcomes for them, whether that means voting along party lines or voting to benefit their constituents
- Party discipline is stronger in the UK resulting in less of a need for party leaders to appeal to other MPs whereas in the US, there is no ‘national manifesto’, making it less likely for members to feel the need to toe the party line and therefore more likely to join a caucus - front benchers are bound by cabinet and ministerial responsibility so will vote to ensure they retain the loyalty of the PM
- In the US, members represent their constituents via either the trustee or delegate model, but the UK the mandate theory also applies resulting to differences on how they vote within the legislature and how they represent their constituents
- In both countries, political affairs have been dominated by two parties however third parties are more significant in the UK resulting in differences in representation
Similarities and differences between the legislatures of the UK and the US using a cultural approach?
- The UK has traditionally seen a greater support for women and minority rights, resulting it having greater diversity than the US
- Parliament has anachronistic traditions such as the Kings speech and antiquated terminology - Congress also has longstanding traditions such as the sate of Union address but it has also developed its own traditions over time such as the filibuster resulting in differences in effectiveness
- The UK, the debating floor and PMQs are staples of political theatre which dont exist in Congress resulting in differences in the effectiveness of their scrutiny
