Unit 3 Legislative Branch Flashcards
The Senate
The Senate is composed of 100 members and is meant to represent the states. Focuses on foreign policy
The House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is composed of 435 members and is meant to represent the people directly. Focuses on taxes and federal budget
Describe the powers and functions of Congress
Powers
-passing the federal budget
-raising taxes
-coining money
-declaring war
-appropriating money for the armed forces
-Necessary and Proper or Elastic Clause
Functions
-Make and formulate policy
-Pass laws
How and why do the Senate and the House of Representatives differ?
Senate
Meant to be a moderating influence on the easily swayed
House
More subject to rapid changes in public opinion
How does the political party system influence actions of Congress and its members?
Partisanship
The idea that legislatures owe their party loyalty prevents members from best representing the needs of their constituents, and can also lead to gridlock and extreme inefficiency
Gerrymandering
Legislative districts are created to favor one political party or the other. It usually means creating districts with odd, irregular shapes and dimensions in order to include some areas and exclude others.
How does congressional oversight limit the power of the Executive Branch?
Power of the Purse
The House and Senate Appropriations committee appropirates funds to agencies and usually does not give the full amount authorized. This gives them power over the exectutive agency.
Investigations
Congress can investigate executive agencies and refer them to the judicial branch
Beginning of Legislative Process (Bills are proposed)
Begins in either house. A member of that chamber simply has to introduce it. Members of the House submit bills to a clerk, and members of the Senate announce the bill while the Senate is in session. Bills can be introduced on virtually any topic; the only limitation is that any bill relating to raising revenue must originate in the House.
Once a bill has been introduced, it is referred to the appropriate committee. Both the House and the Senate have committees that specialize in various subject areas.
Middle Legislative Process (Committes)
Most bills die in committee and never make it to a vote of the full House or full Senate. Each committee has a chairperson who decides whether each bill will be considered immediately or pigeonholed If the committee chair believes the bill is worth considering, it is referred to a subcommittee.
Subcommittee members will conduct research, hold hearings, and suggest amendments to the bill before they report on it. Once the subcommittee has completed the research and amendment process, the bill returns to the full committee. The committee then votes on whether or not to report favorably on the bill to the entire House or the entire Senate.
If the committee members report unfavorably on the bill, that is generally the end of it. If they report favorably, it goes to the House or Senate floor for debate.
End of Legislative Process (Floor)
Bills must pass through House Rules Committee. The Rules Committee is generally heavily influenced by the Speaker of the House, and it sets the procedures for debating a particular bill.
Once both chambers have had a chance to vote on a bill, if there are major differences between the House version and the Senate version, it goes to a special committee called a Conference Committee. This committee includes members of both the House and the Senate, and their job is to iron out the differences between the two versions of the bill.
Once they come up with a single version of the bill, it must meet the final approval of both chambers of Congress, and then it goes to the president’s desk. If the president signs the bill, it becomes law. If the president vetoes the bill, it may return to Congress for another vote. If two-thirds of both chambers vote in favor of the bill, it still becomes law. This is called overriding a veto.
John Maynard Keynes philosophy
the government’s role is to regulate the economy by controlling the amount of money circulating in the economy.
Public Policy Process
Problem identification
policy formulation
policy adoption
policy implementation
policy evolution
Agenda Setting
Problem identification is deemed worthy by congressional leaders
Policy Adoption/Implementation Process
Happen in congressional committees and on the House and Senate floors. Policy formulation starts with the writing of a bill, but it continues as the bill is amended through committee hearings and floor debates.
Finally, once the policy is adopted, it is implemented by one or more agencies in the Executive Branch. Policy is also evaluated by Congress through its oversight power.
Congressional committees can call members of the Executive Branch to testify and answer questions about how policies are being implemented. The oversight process can, in turn, open the door for the process to start over again with new or more refined policies.
The Necessary and Proper Clause/Elastic Clause (found in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution)
Gives Congress considerable flexibility in the scope of its power. It essentially allows Congress to take any action it deems necessary to carry out its specifically listed powers and duties
Senators
Each state is allotted two senators, each of whom serves for a term of six years. Vice president is the president of the Senate, but usually by longest serving senator
Filibuster
Senators use the filibuster to delay votes on bills they oppose, and often this leads to the death of the bill.
Cloture
The only way to end a filibuster is for three-fifths of the Senate to vote to put a limit on speaking times for a particular bill.
Federal judges and executive departments leaders
federal judges and heads of executive departments are appointed by the president but confirmed by the Senate.
Speaker of the House
Elected by the House and sets the legislative agenda in the House, moderates floor debates, and is influential in making committee assignments
House Rules Committee
Sets the rules of debate for each individual bill before it goes to the whole House for consideration.
Logrolling
The trading of favors, or quid pro quo, such as vote trading by legislative members to obtain passage of actions of interest to each legislative member.
Pork-barrel spending/earmarking
Refers to attempts by members of Congress to secure federal funds for a special project in their home state or district.
Delegate
a person sent or authorized to represent others, in particular an elected representative sent to a conference.
Trustee
an individual person or member of a board given control or powers of administration of property in trust with a legal obligation to administer it solely for the purposes specified.
Gridlocks that lead to shutdowns
1995 under Bill Clinton
2013 under Barack Obama.
Agency’s Restrictions by Congress
Funding
Money is appropriated, or set aside, as part of the annual budget process. Done by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees
Investigations
Congress can conduct investigations into agency activity. Investigations can be initiated for acting inappropriately or failing to enforce a particular law correctly.
Witnesses for Agencys
Witnesses can be subpoenaed, in which case they are legally required to come and testify. If they refuse, Congress can vote to jail the individual or refer the matter to the federal court system. Or they may be excused by the executive is it is security reasons.
Beginning of Executive Agencies
When an executive agency is first created by Congress, the legislative committee that creates it also develops authorization legislation that determines the total amount of money the agency may legally receive.
