Unit 4 Flashcards
What are some perks of being a member of Congress?
Incumbency
Good pay
Help make laws
Which house of congress is more centralized?
The House of Representatives
Which house of congress is less formal and centralized?
The Senate
How many members of the Senate are there?
100
How many members of the House of Representatives are there?
435
What are the qualifications to be a member of the Senate?
39 years old
9 years a citizen
Legal resident of the state you represent
What are the qualifications to be a rep for the House of Representatives?
25 years old
7 years a citizen
Legal resident of the state you represent
How long is a Senate term?
6 years
What specific powers belong to the Senate?
Passes Bills
Lay and Collect Taxes
Tries Impeachment Cases
Remove officials with a 2/3 vote
How long is a House of Representatives term?
2 years
What specific powers belong to the HoR?
Originates all money bills
Originates impeachment of executive and judicial officials
What are some advantages that incumbents enjoy?
Staff support
Media and travel
The “Scare-Off” effect
Redistricting
When was the last major political tidal wave when a large number of incumbents were voted out of office?
1994
What needs to happen in order for a bill to be sent to the president if introduced in the House of Representatives?
- Introduced in HoR
- Committee chair
- Subcommittee
- Full committee
- Rules committee
- Full Senate
- Conference committee
- House and Senate approval
- President
What needs to happen in order for a bill to be sent to the president if introduced in the House of Representatives?
- Introduced in the Senate
- Committee chair
- Subcommittee
- Full committee
- Full Senate
- Conference committee
- House and Senate approval
- President
What can a president do once given a bill?
Sign and pass
Veto
Wait 10 days (if passed by House and Senate w/ 2/3 it passes)
Wait 10 days and no pass
What are the functions of the House Rules Committee?
Exists only in the House of Representatives
Controls time and rules of debate in conjunction with Speaker to control the floor
Impersonal and more partisan
Necessary because there are more people, so open floor debates would be too chaotic
Describe the impeachment process.
House commits impeachment of official
Senate tries official
What is a filibuster?
Talking a bill to death in the Senate
What is cloture?
A vote that can be signed with a motion from 16 Senators then 60 Senators have to vote to end the debate
What are the main duties of the Speaker of the House?
Presides over the House
Decides whom to recognize to speak on the floor
rules on appropriateness of motions
directs bills to the appropriate committee
influences which bills are brought up for a vote
appoints members of special and select committees
What are standing committees?
permanent committees, proposed bills are referred to committees, >10% of bills are reported out to the floor
What are select committees?
temporary committees for specific purposes. often conduct special investigations or studies
What are conference committees?
special kind of joint committee that reconciles the house and senate versions of a bill. bill must pass both houses in identical form to become a law
What are joint committees?
Members from both houses
Describe some ways that Congress has oversight of the federal bureaucracy?
Power to withhold funding
Initiate and investigate bureaucracy
What did the case of U.S. Term Limit Inc. et al. V. Thornton et al. rule?
States cannot impose qualifications for prospective members of the U.S. Congress stricter than those specified in the Constitution
What is reapportionment?
The reallocation of the number of seats in the House of Representatives after each decennial census
What is congressional oversight?
Refers to the review, monitoring, and supervision of federal agencies, programs, activities, and policy implementation to make sure they are all doing their jobs and not overstepping any powers
What is a budget deficit?
The amount by which federal expenditure exceeds federal revenue (dollar figures for deficit normally increase because of inflation)
What is the 16th amendment?
The congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration
What are tax expenditures?`
Revenue losses attributable to tax provisions that often result from the use of the tax system to promote social goals without incurring direct expenditures
What are tax increments?
The difference between the amount of property tax revenue generated before TIF district designation and the amount of property tax revenue generated after TIF designation
What is a bearer bond?
A debt security issued by a business entity, such as a corporation, or by a government
What are fiscal mandates?
Federal government policies on taxes, spending, and debt management, intended to promote the nation’s macroeconomic goals, particularly with respect to employment, price stability, and growth
What are the biggest federal expenditures?
Social security, Medicare, Medicaid
What is Social Security?
Oold age insurance and assistance for the needy, children, and others, and unemployment insurance
Who is most affected by poverty in our country?
African Americans
What is Medicare?
Federal program established in the Lyndon B. Johnson administration that provides medical care to elderly Social Security recipients
What are uncontrollable expenditures?
Expenditures that are determined by how many eligible beneficiaries that are for a program or by previous obligations of the gov’t so Congress can easily cut hte money going to these programs
What percentage of the budget is uncontrollable?
65%
What is an entitlement program?
When someone gets money from the government because they meet some sort of requirement. People don’t have to pay into the program to get the benefit of it
What is a budget resolution?
A document that lays out a rough budget. It is a plan for Congress as they work to create an official budget
What would a Monetarist support (monetarism)?
A monetarist would support the government controlling how much money goes into circulation and they would support having the rise in money grow in accordance to the growth of products and goods. This way, inflation wouldn’t occur.
What is an appropriations bill?
Divides spending on specific projects into categories
12 different categories
Authorizes government to spend money and specifically how much on what
What is pork barrel legislation and how does it help a congressperson get reelected?
An appropriations bill that specifically addresses a constituents desire
They pump money into the district to which the legislation is aimed
Achieved through logrolling (I’ll help you if you help me)
May not benefit the majority of people but represents a supported issue by their constituents
Helps congresspeople get reelected because voters see that they’ve brought money and projects to their area
What kind of economy does the US have?
Mixed economy, capitalist
What is fiscal policy?
Federal government policies on taxing, spending, and debt management, intended to promote the nation’s macroeconomic goals, particularly in respect to employment, price stability, and growth
What is laissez faire?
A French term meaning “to allow to do, to leave alone.” It is a hands-of governmental
policy that is based on the belief that government involvement in the economy is wrong
What is a surplus?
Spending not required to pay for contracts, interest on the national debt or entitlement programs
Is there a correlation between voting behavior and economic conditions?
Voters tend to punish or reward incumbents for current conditions
While people may see congresspeople’s role in the economy, the president is ultimately blamed
What is supply-side economics?
Reaganomics.
Tax cuts for the wealthy
The wealthy would invest their disposable income into expanding business and hiring more workers
Would lead to economic growth.
What is inflation?
A rise in the general price levels of an economy; occurs when there is too much demand for the available supply of goods and services; prices may also rise if large corporations and unions have sufficient economic power to push prices and wages above competitive levels
What are some features of Keynesian economics?
The government should take action through “stimulus
spending” which will cause an increase in demands for all goods and services and result in created jobs
What are the steps involved in creating a federal budget?
Step 1: President’s Proposal Step 2: Budget Resolutions Step 3: Conference Committee Step 4: Appropriations Committee Step 5: Committees work together Congress Votes Step 6: To the President
