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Government > Unit V: Branches of Govt.: Legislative > Flashcards

Unit V: Branches of Govt.: Legislative Flashcards

0
Q

Legislative branch aka….

A

Congress

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1
Q

What article is the legislative branch in in the constitution?

A

Article I

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2
Q

How is congress organized?

A

Bicameral legislature

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3
Q

Define bicameral

A

2 houses

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4
Q

Name 2 houses of congress

A

House of reps & senate

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5
Q

How many reps for each state for senate?

A

2 from each state

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6
Q

How is # of reps in house of reps determined?

A

Based on state’s pop.

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7
Q

List 3 qualifications for house of reps

A
  1. 25 yrs old
  2. US citizen for 7 yrs
  3. Resident of state you represent
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8
Q

How long is term for rep in the house?

A

2 yrs

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9
Q

Is there term limits for house reps?

A

No

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10
Q

Why no term limits for House of Reps

A
  1. Share power
  2. Nation needs great leaders
  3. People could vote out bad leaders
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11
Q

Define incumbent

A

person who holds office

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12
Q

Define office

A

the political position

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13
Q

When is the term “incumbent” generally used?

A

During election/campaign time

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14
Q

What is the reelection rate for incumbents?

A

70%

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15
Q

Why do incumbents have such a high chance of reelection?

A
  • easier for incumbent to fundraise

- people don’t really like change, especially when everything is going well

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16
Q

How many reps are there in the house?

A

435

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17
Q

What is a state’s # of reps based on?

A

Population

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18
Q

When do the # of reps per state change?

A

Every 10 yrs w/ the census

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19
Q

Each state is divided into what

A

Districts

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20
Q

If PA has 18 reps, how many districts does it have?7

A

18 districts

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21
Q

How many reps per district?

A

1 rep

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22
Q

How many reps do you vote for?

A

Just one - the rep of your district

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23
Q

Who is our rep for the House?

A

Mike Kelly (R)

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24
Q

What district are we?

A

3rd district

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25
Q

Define gerrymandering

A

Drawing districts to favor one political party over another

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26
Q

What’s deal with gerrymandering and Supreme Court?

A

Supreme Court has declared it to be unconstitutional, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t get away with it

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27
Q

Define constituents

A

people who live in a district

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28
Q

Who is the House controlled by?

A

Republicans

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29
Q

Who is the speaker of the house?

A

Rep. John Boehner

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30
Q

Is the speaker of the House one of the 235 reps?

A

Yes

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31
Q

Who is the Majority leader of the House?

A

Kevin McCarthy

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32
Q

Who is the Minority Leader of the House?

A

Nancy Pelosi

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33
Q

List qualifications for senate

A
  1. 30 yrs old
  2. US citizen for 9 yrs
  3. Resident of state you represent
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34
Q

How long is a senate term?

A

6 yrs

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35
Q

Is there term limits for the senate?

A

No

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36
Q

Why no term limits for the senate?

A
  1. Share power
  2. Nation needs great leaders
  3. People could vote out bad leaders
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37
Q

Are all 100 seats of the senate open at once for elections?

A

No

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38
Q

When are elections held for the senate?

A

Every 2 yrs - same time as House of Reps

39
Q

How many senate seats are open every election?

40
Q

How many senators make up the senate?

41
Q

Who votes for senators?

A

Everyone in that state - regardless of districts

42
Q

Who is the senior senator for PA?

A

Bob Casey Jr.

43
Q

Who is the junior senator for PA?

A

Pat Toomey

44
Q

Who is president of the senate?

45
Q

Who is the Majority Leader of the Senate?

A

Mitch McConnell

46
Q

Is the majority leader of the senate democrat or republican?

A

Republican, therefore republican controls both House & Senate

47
Q

Who is the Minority Leader of the Senate?

A

Harry Reid

48
Q

Define censure

A

Formal disapproval

49
Q

Define expulsion

A

Forced to leave office

50
Q

How does one get expelled from congress?

A

2/3 vote of that house

51
Q

Describe background on 27th Amendment

A

Congress controls all the money in govt - they control their own pay

52
Q

What is the 27th Amendment?

A

If Congress gives themselves a pay raise, it does not go into effect until the next session of Congress (until after the next election)

53
Q

Why is the 27th Amendment in place? (& why it works so well)

A

Bc if they give themselves a huge raise then the people won’t really like that & therefore they probably won’t get re-elected

54
Q

Is it becoming easier or more difficult for congress to function effectively?

A

It is becoming increasingly difficult

55
Q

Why is it becoming increasingly difficult for congress to function effectively?

A
  1. Size of Congress is increasing
  2. Complexity of issues
  3. Political partisanship
56
Q

Explain what is meant by the complexity of issues

A

e.g. To use nuclear power or to not use? They didn’t have decisions like this 100 yrs ago

57
Q

Explain political partisanship

A

Conservative vs. Liberal

  • not willing to work together much / much less compromise
  • more extreme
58
Q

What is the significance with the increasing difficulty to function effectively in congress?

A

Strict rules…

  • Senate is less formal - fewer members (therefore less rules)
  • Ex. Can talk as long as you want in the Senate but the House has time limits
59
Q

What is the goal of all congressmen?

A

TO GAIN POWER

60
Q

Who fills the position of the president of the senate?

A

the Vice President

61
Q

What’s the deal with the president of the senate?

A

It’s written in the constitution that the Vice President presides over the senate but he rarely does except in cases of a tie where he would be the deciding vote

62
Q

Describe the President Pro Tempore

A

Honorary / little power

63
Q

Describe the Majority Leader

A
  • schedule the bills / assign to committies
    * controls order that bills are taken care of
  • 1st to be recognized for debate
64
Q

Describe the minority leader

A

works with the majority leader

65
Q

Describe the Party Whip

A
  • keeps trap of how members vote
  • round up members to vote
  • get members opinions
66
Q

Describe the Speaker of the House

A
  • most power

- schedule / plan / assign

67
Q

Where is most of the work in congress done?

A

Committees

68
Q

What are committees needed in order to do?

A

needed in order to handle the # & complexity of issues

69
Q

What is the single most important part of congress?

A

Committees - bills must go through committees!! This is where they usually become dead

70
Q

What are the 3 types of committees?

A
  1. Standing committees
  2. Select committees
  3. Joint committees
71
Q

What is a standing committee?

A

Permanent committee which specializes in particular topic

72
Q

What is the most important type of committee?

A

Standing committee

73
Q

Are some standing committees more important than others?

A

Yes

Ex. Foreign relations more important than agriculture

74
Q

Who are the members of standing committees?

A
  • majority party could occupy all but usually take majority of seats & chairperson
  • rest of seats go to minority part
75
Q

Is there a limit to how many people can serve on each (standing) committee?

76
Q

How are standing committees filled?

A
  1. Seniority

2. Political power

77
Q

What are select committees?

A

groups appointed for a limited purpose and a limited time

78
Q

What are joint committees? (& example)

A

groups with both Representatives & Senators

ex. Conference Committee – help House & Senate agree on the details of a proposed law

79
Q

Describe the overall significance of committees

A
  1. Leadership carries more power in the House than the Senate
  2. Party Vote
  3. Role of Staffs
80
Q

Describe how leadership carries more power in the House than in the Senate

A

size & rules

Ex. Restriction on debate

81
Q

Describe the significance of the party vote

A

When majority of the Party vote the same on an issue
-the higher the %, the stronger the vote

Representatives –> most responsive to their constituents
-therefore less party votes

82
Q

Describe the significance of the role of staffs

A

-has grown as issues have become more complex

Ex. 1935 –> 2 aides; today: House of Reps = 17, Senate = 40

83
Q

Define appropriations

A

how the govt. spends money

84
Q

List the congressional powers

A
  1. collect taxes
  2. borrow money
  3. regulate commerce (trade)
  4. regulate immigration/naturalization
  5. coin money & set its value
  6. create postal system
  7. issue patents
  8. create lower federal courts
  9. declare war
  10. create army/navy = armed forces
    (also have power to draft troops)
  11. ratify treaties
  12. approve nominations/appointments of govt. officials
  13. create laws
  14. propose amendments to Constitution
  15. controls appropriations
  16. House of Reps elects President if electoral college fails
  17. impeach federal officials
85
Q

Describe the impeachment process

A

2 Part Process

  1. House –> impeachment
  2. Senate –> out on trial / verdict
86
Q

Define impeachment

A

accuse govt. official of wrongdoing

87
Q

Describe the significance of congressional powers

A
  1. Expressed / delegated powers
    - written out in Constitution
  2. implied powers
    - Congress can increase their power but using the “necessary & proper” clause
    • allows Congress to make specific laws to carry out their vague powers
      • Vague powers = expressed powers
88
Q

By whom must a bill be introduced?

A

A senator or representative

89
Q

How is a bill introduced in the senate?

A

formal announcement

90
Q

How is a bill introduced in the house?

A

Drop in “hopper” (box)

91
Q

How do presidents introduce a bill?

A

will usually ask a senator or rep to sponsor a bill w/ him

92
Q

Does pending legislation carry over from 1 congress to the next?

93
Q

Why are bills introduced?

A
  1. to help the country

2. to make politicians look good (so they can go back to district & say “look what I did”)

94
Q

What is the most important step in the introduction process?

A

The work of committees

95
Q

Does every bill to to a committee?

A

Yes every single one

96
Q

How are committees assigned to bills?

A
  • by appropriate topic in correspondence w the bill
  • for political reasons (gets sent to a committee w/ a particular leader who will either crush or help the bill)
  • assigned to multiple committees bc of complexity of bill

Government (13 decks)

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