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Politics > US: Congress > Flashcards

US: Congress Flashcards

1
Q

3 examples where Congress has demonstrated bipartisanship

A
  1. Jobs Act 2012
  2. 21st Century cures act 2016
  3. Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act 2020
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2
Q

3 ways the House can check the President

A
  1. House initiates Impeachment
  2. House can block legislation and cause government shutdown (e.g. Pelosi v Trump gov. shutdown over border wall 2018-2019)
  3. Power of the purse (e.g. Vietnam)
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3
Q

3 ways the Senate can check the President

A
  1. Senate finalises impeachment
  2. Senate confirms Supreme court nominations (e.g. Merrick Garland 2016) and also ambassadors, judges and cabinet members
  3. Ratify treaties and declare war (2009 Convention on the rights of disabled people)
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4
Q

3 ways the Senate is more prestigious than the House

A
  1. 1 out of 100, you are able to have a louder voice than in the House
  2. Re-election every 6 years, gives you more time to get things done and more wiggle room
  3. Functions: Filibuster, appointment, treaties/war
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5
Q

3 ways the House is more prestigious than the Senate

A
  1. House members have a greater mandate due to constituency link
  2. House members who have been in there for a long time will have a greater mandate- as they will have been re-elected every 2 years (clearly popular)
  3. Elect the President in a draw (clearly shows they are more representative than senate)
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6
Q

ETVT Congress is a broken branch when it comes to representation FOR:

A
  1. 26% female, 26% POC (51% and 40% IRL)
  2. Trustee model encourages strong party biases and puts more distance between them and the “folks at home” (e.g. Senators from California)
  3. Salary is over 4x that of average American
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7
Q

ETVT Congress is a broken branch when it comes to representation AGAINST:

A
  1. Relying on party bias saves time + delegate model means it shouldn’t matter
  2. House members elected every two years gives them a greater mandate if they have incumbency
  3. Arguably people with better access to education (e.g. those with rich backgrounds and university degrees) can do a better job of representation
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8
Q

ETVT Congress is a broken branch when it comes to legislation FOR:

A
  1. Previously 6-7% bills became law, now it is 2-3%, when house and senate are divided 38% decrease in legislation.
  2. Sen. Majority Leader Bob Dole once described himself as “majority pleader” as even under a united government legislation is still a hassle to pass (e.g. Clinton healthcare reform and Bush social security reforms both failed)
  3. Filibuster is laughable- in his 21 hour filibuster in 2013 against PPACA he read Green Eggs and Ham
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9
Q

ETVT Congress is a broken branch when it comes to legislation AGAINST:

A
  1. Congress has overcome the tyranny of the veto- Pres. Roosevelt made 635 overall vetoes and Truman made 250. In modern days, Clinton made 36 and Trump made 10
  2. Bills passed does not change under president/party e.g. 111th congress passes 383 laws, 114th passes 329
  3. Dual-party system encourages scrutiny
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10
Q

ETVT Congress is a broken branch when it comes to oversight FOR:

A
  1. Oversight of President led to government shutdown in 2018/2019 after disputes over border wall budget
  2. Biden does not inform Congress of re-entering Paris agreement in 2020, Obama does not inform them of airstrikes in Libya in 2011
  3. Pork barrel politics, Bridge to nowhere 2004 GWB attempting to secure support; 2019 $15 billion spent
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11
Q

ETVT Congress is a broken branch when it comes to oversight AGAINST:

A
  1. JASTA, presidential veto overriden
  2. Power of the Purse (e.g. Vietnam) and nominations (e.g. 1989 rejection of John Tower for Sec. Defence)
  3. Impeachment and investigation, e.g. Kathleen Sebelius Health secretary resigns in 2014 after failure of healthcare.gov- if you are in contempt of Congress £100k fine or 1 year in prison
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12
Q

How is political extremism shown in Congress, and how has this affected legislation?

A
  1. 2010, out of 60 of the most conservative democrats, 62% were not re-elected and out of 5 moderate republicans only 1 was re-elected
  2. Previously, the leftmost Republican and rightmost Democrat overlapped and opposition came from Congressional caucuses rather than parties- today they are totally split and refuse to work together
  3. e.g. Party split exacerbated by 2020 presidential election, in which Pres. Trump refused to concede to Pres. Biden and claimed it was rigged for the Democrats
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13
Q

Argue that Congress has more power over FP than the President

A
  1. Power of the purse, e.g. Vietnam 1974
  2. Investigation, e.g. Benghazi
  3. Senate approves all ambassadors
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14
Q

Argue the President has more power over FP than Congress

A
  1. EAs such as the Paris agreement in 2021
  2. EOs and mobilising troops, such as Libya airstrikes 2011 and Syria 2012
  3. Bully Pulpit- Obama: “we will extend our hand if you will unclench your fist”
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15
Q

How does the constitution directly pit Congress and the President against each other in terms of FP

A
  1. Presidents negotiate treaties, Congress ratifies them
  2. Difference between Cabinet which needs to be senate approved- and EXoP (e.g. Susanna Rice as NSA)
  3. power of purse vs commander in chief
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16
Q

Examples where Supreme Court has either supported Congress or President

A
  1. PPACA is put down in NFBI vs Sibelius, you cannot enforce fines on states for not enforcing Medicaid
  2. Trump Muslim travel ban, upheld by Supreme Court and only revoked under Biden in 2021
  3. Hamdi vs Rumsfield 2004- challenged President’s wartime authority (state of war does not revoke citizen rights)
17
Q

What was Case Zablocki

A

The EA version of the War Powers Resolution, never been used

18
Q

ETVT Congress’s influence over FP has diminished in recent years

A

write in answer later

19
Q

ETVT Congressional oversight of the President is ineffective

A
  1. Appointments
    - 1989 John Tower rejected as Sec. Defence
    PIVOT: Susanna Rice made national security advisor after being rejected from cabinet (EXOP)
  2. Committee investigations
    - Healthcare.org resignations
    PIVOT: Mueller report and impeachment
  3. Foreign Policy
    - ratify treaties and declare war, power of the purse (e.g. Vietnam 1972)
    PIVOT: Pres. commander-in-chief with power to mobilise troops using EOs, diplomacy (e.g. Trump with Putin and Kim Jon-goon)
    - The US has not declared war since WW2, showing that military power lies with the president
20
Q

ETVT the president’s ability to achieve their aims depends mainly on the composition of Congress

A
  1. Natural powers
  2. Major crisis, high approval rating
  3. Make-up
21
Q

3 Roles of Congress

A
  1. Representation
  2. Legislation
  3. Oversight
22
Q

Difference between starting legislation in House and Senate

A

House: House Rules Committee
Senate: “Unanimous Consent Agreement” between Minority and Majority Leader

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