Unit 4 - Legislative Branch Flashcards
How many people are in the HOR?
435 members
How many people are in the Senate
100 members
Qualifications for the House of Representatives
1) 25+ years old
2) 7+ year citizen
3) must be a legal resident of state that elects them
4) no concurrent executive job (sep. of powers)
Qualifications of the Senate
1) 30+ years old
2) 9+ year citizen
3) legal resident of state that elects them
4) no concurrent executive job (sep. of powers)
mark-up
when committee members go through the bill section by section and make changes they think the bill needs
session
a period of time during which a legislature meets to conduct business
term for a House member
2 years
term for a US Senator
6 years
Reapportionment
the process of reassigning representation based on population after every census
gerrymandering
to draw a district’s boundaries to gain an advantage in elections in favor of one political party
redistricting
to set up new district lines after reapportionment is complete
H/S Majority leader
the speaker’s top assistant whose job is to help plan the majority party’s legislative program and to steer important bills through the House/Senate; leader of party in Power
H/S Minority leader
develop criticism of the majority party’s bills and tries to keep Senators in the minority working together; leader of party not in power
whip
an assistant to the party floor leader in the legislature
Speaker of the House
chosen by the caucus of the majority party, they are the presiding officer of the House and is its most powerful leader
President Pro-Tempore
serves as leader in the absence of the President of the US Senate (Vice President)
Vice President
constitutionally serves as president of the US Senate
appropriation bill
a proposed law to authorize the spending of money
authorization bill
a bill that sets up a federal program and specifies how much money may be appropriated for the program.
public bill
a bill dealing with general matters and applying to the entire nation
private bill
a bill dealing with individual people or places
quorum
term that equals the minimum number of people necessary to conduct everyday business
types of staff members
personal staff and committee staff
duties of staff members
they help lawmakers with handling their constituents, legislative workload, communicating to constituents, drafting reports, and even attending meetings.
3 reasons why few bills pass
1) Lawmaking process is long and complicated. At any point, a bill can be delayed, killed or changed. Groups opposed to a bill have an advantage b/c they can amend or kill a bill at many steps along the way
2) Sponsors of a bill must be willing to compromise and bargain with lawmakers and interest groups. Bills must have strongg support to pass. Conversely, bills with strongly opposed groups rarely pass.
3) Lawmakers sometimes introduce bills they know will not pass as means to attract attention of the news media. It also helps lawmakers avoid criticism at reelection b/c they can report they took action.
casework
the work a lawmaker does to help constituents with problems
how bills become a law…
A bill is assigned a # and committee (can be introduced to either house or could be pigeonholed) — committee leaders assign bill to subcommittee — subcommittee holds hearings, markup sessions, vote — bill is returned to committee for hearings, discussions, vote — committee reports to the House Floor — passage requires majority vote and the signature of the leader of the Chamber — once passed, sent to other house and process repeats — (if needed conference action takes place) — bill is sent to President where it can be signed or left alone for 10 days to officially become a law
veto
rejection of a bill
pocket veto
when a president kills a bill passed during the last 10 days Congress is in session by simply refusing to act on it
entitlements
a required gov’t expenditure that continues from one year to the next
powers denied to Congress
1) writ of habeas corpus: court order to release a person accused of a crime to court to determine whether he/she has been legally detained
2) bills of attainder: laws that establish guilt and punish people without allowing them a trial
3) ex post facto laws: laws that make crimes of acts that were legal when they were committed
4) power tax exports: Congress cannot put a tax on goods being shipped out of the country
foreign policy powers
power to… approve treaties, declare war, create and maintain an army and navy, make rules governing land and naval forces, and regulate commerce.
cloture
a procedure that allows each senator to speak only one hour on a bill under debate; used to stop a filibuster
4 types of committees
1) standing committee: permanent group that oversees bills dealing with certain kids of issues
2) select committee: (temporary) study one specific issue and report findings to the House/Senate
3) joint committee: made up of both the House and Senate, it acts as a study group with responsibility to report findings back to the House and Senate
4) conference committee:(temporary) set up when the House and Senate have passed different versions of the same bill
20th Amendment
gives Congress the power to settle problems arising from the death of elected candidates and from presidential incapacity or resignation; changed session time from March 15 to noon of January 3
27th Amendment
Prohibits a sitting Congress from giving itself a pay raise
censure
a vote of formal disapproval of a member’s actions
expell
to refuse a legislator to be seated in Congress by a majority vote