Unit 3 Part 1: Congress Flashcards
What is the minimum age for the house?
25 years
What is the minimum time of citizen ship for the house?
7 years
How long are terms for the House Representatives?
2 years
What House leader is leader of majority party and has great power and influence?
Speaker of the House
Who helps steer bills through committees?
floor leaders
What do Party whips do?
assist floor leaders to persuade party members to support laws that the party favors
What does the rules committee do?
Sends bills from committee to the floor
How many members are composed in a quorum?
100
What is the function of the Committee of the Whole?
it speeds up the process on important bills
What is the minimum age of the senate?
30
What is the minimum residency of the US for senators?
9
How long are senate terms?
6 years
What does the Calendars of General Orders do?
schedules bills to be considered in the Senate
What does the Executive Calendar do?
schedules treaties and nominations
What are four benefits of being a congressman?
set your own salary, allowances for office staff and business trips, tax breaks for maintaining two residences, retirement pensions
What is filibuster?
unlimited debate on a bill in order to defeat it;
What do standing committees deal with?
certain issues continuing from one congress to the next
What do subcommittees do?
handle special subcategories of standing committee work and continue from one Congress to the next
What are select committees?
special committees created in both houses for one term only to study a specific issue and report their findings
Who are in joint committees?
joint members of both houses to act as a study group
What do conference committees do?
resolve the differences in the house and Senate versions of a bill
What does the Library of Congress do?
provides information requested by congress, congressional staff, and committees
What does the Government Printing Office do?
Prints the “Congressional Record”, a complete account of all congressional speeches and testimony and “Statistical Abstract of the United states”, an annual publication.
What does Legislative Oversight do?
Check how the executive branch carries out Congressional laws
What do Authorization bills do?
set up federal program and how much money to spend on it
How many representatives are there?
435
In Congress, _____________ are informal organizations of individual congressional representatives with like interests or constituencies.
caucuses
What amendment allowed for the direct election of senators?
17th
What is the franking privileged?
Benefit allowing members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free
What is logrolling?
An arrangement in which two or more members of Congress agree in advance to support each other’s bills
What are the four Congressional checks on the President?
override the presidential vetos; power of the purse; impeachment; approval powers over appointments
Identify three possible sources of incumbency advantage.
Voting recordName recognitionFinancial advantage
Describe how voting record works to an incumbent’s advantage.
Incumbents can show what they have done to help the district they represent while the challenger can’t. If they are voting the way their constituents want, they can point to a tangible source for their true beliefs. The challenger can only say what his beliefs are, he has no proof.
Describe how name recognition works to an incumbent’s advantage.
the candidate has run, and won, in an election in the past. This means that people know who they are and what they represent. This means that they do not have to work as hard to establish their platform or to get their name out to voters.
Describe how financial advantage works to an incumbent’s advantage.
Incumbents already have developed budgets, resources, and incomes for campaigning. New candidates have to start from scratch to create a successful campaign.
3 Reasons why incumbents tend to lose elections.
Scandal, bad voting record, redistricting
What is a bill of attainder and is it legal?
A legislative act that pronounces a person guilty of a crime and imposes an attainder and it is prohibited.
What is the advantage of serving longer in congress?
choice of committee assignments and more committee power.
What are three unique powers of the senate?
Approve presidential appointments to key federal offices, Confirm all federal judicial appointments, and Ratify treaties.
What is Congressional Oversight?
the review, monitoring, and supervision of federal agencies, programs, activities, and policy implementation.
