US congress Flashcards
beause congress has two chambers what is it known as
a bicameral legislagture
what % of american aprove of teh work congress does
13% up from 11%
what % of congress men/women are relected
96%
how many membours of the senate vs the house of rep
- 100 in the senate ( two senators for each state no matter the size)
- 435 in the house ( numbre of reps depends on the population size of the state)
what does each representaive in congress represent
a congressional district in a state
what are the reqiremenst to become a represenative of teh house
- US citozen for at least 7 years
- over 25
- resident of teh state tehy reprsent
what are the reqiremenst to become a senator
- US citozen for at least 9 years
- over 23
- resident of teh state tehy reprsent
what is an election in teh middle of a precidency called
a midterm
what amendment made it manditory for teh senate to be eleceted
teh seveteenth amedment 1913
what electorla system do comgressioanl elections take place under
FPTP
why is it more likly that a unified congress will occure after a primary
- the coatails effect
what an exeptions to teh coats tail effect
- Bush 2002
- obama 2012
what is it called when when a currentholder of a political office is relelected
incubanacy ( they are teh incumbant)
describe the decomratic vs republican makup of congress since 2009
- Obama 2008-16
1. D-D
2. R-D
3. R-D
4. R-R - Trump 2016-2020
1. R-R
2. D-R - Biden
1. D-(D- split but harris tie breaker)
2. R-D
what are the powers both chamers have in congress
8
- Legislative Powe
1. prepose
2. pass - Oversight Power
1. botbh can hold invesigtory hearings - impeahcment role
- war powers
- amendment power
what are the powers that are only held by the senate
- confirming appointments
1. federal judges and supream court judges, Cabinet members, ambassadors
2. only a majority vote needed - ratifying treaties
1. negotiate dby president
2. 2/3 majority neded - Filibuster and Cloture
1. fillabuster ( talk withou being stopped)- can killa bill by usinf all its set debate tiem without coming to a vote.
2. closture ( to end a fillabuster requires the support of three-fifths (currently 60 out of 100) of the senators. - voting on impeachments ( impeachemnt trials)
1. 2/3 majority - the power to select a vise presidnt
1. in the case of an electoral collage tie
2. in the case of the role needing filling e.g if the president dies or resigns and teh piror vice president steps up
where do most invesigations occure under
- the senate judicary committee
give an example of a mebour of the eexecutive going on trial in congress
Hillary clinton as secuartyry of state when on trial in 2016 for her use of a private email sharing governemnt clasified documenst
give an example of a consitutional amendment made by congress
- the 17th amendment 1913 reqirign all senators to be elected officlas
- these are very rare as tehy are so difficult to pass (there has only been 27)
give an example of a succesful impeachemnt of a judge
- 2010 judge thomas porteous
- wingly and intentionally making false statements
how many time shas the electoral colalge been split and congress has ahd to vote the president and vise president in ?
- 2 times a very long time ago in the 18 hundreds
whos the democratic and republican leaders/ minority leaders in the house
- Democrat= Nancy pelosi
- Republican = Kevin Macarthy
whos the democratic and republican leaders/ minority leaders in the senate
- democrat= chuck shuma
- republican = mich mconnell
what is a bill failing called ?
a bill dies
name three senators that are democrats
- chuck schumer - majority leader
- joe manhcin - (republican leaning senator for iowa )
- Berni sanders (tecnically an inderpendent but will vote with the democrats)
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what is the compramise witch made there a bicameral legistalgture
- The conneticut comparamise
give an example of a fillabuster
- like when Strom Thurmond filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for over 24 hours
give an example of 2 rcent bi partizan effort 2
- Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act 2002, is the most recent bi partisan effort on campaign finance reform - McCain–Feingold Act
- the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act 2022
what % of bills make it through congress
- 2-4 %
How is a bill usually introduced into congress
- a congress embour sponcers it
*
give an example of a bill making it through congress quickly becuse of a united government
- the tax cuts and jobs act Trumps bill took from the 2nd of novembre to the 15th of decembre 2017
what are the primary roles of congress
- passing legislation
- represenation
- oversight (and chacsk and ballences)
what is a standing committee ?
- its liek a pulic bills committee in that tehy deal with bills but a select comitee in that tehy are policy specialist and are perminant committees
- full of policy speciclaist to “mark up “ amend bills
- they reflect teh partizan makup of congress
- there are commitees in both houses
- a house commitee will have 30-40 mebours where as a senate will have around 18
- there are also subcommittees of standing committees
what are the roles of standing committees
- conducting the committee phase
1. this involves hearings where they hear from witnesses e.g congress men or women and mebours of the public
2. there is the markup of a bill
3. then they vote on weather to pass the bill on to the next step - conducting investigations
1. into problems in their specialty policy area
2. senate judicary commitee invesigations into mebours of the execuative
3. if the invesigation is too big it will likly have its own select commitee made around it. - confirming presidncial appointments
1. foreign relations commitee confirms ambasiders
2. judicay committeee holds hearings on supream court judages
3. e.g. refused to hold a hearing on Obamas supreame court moninee judge merick garland in 2016 ( however the vote is also held on the senate floor too)
What is teh House rules committee
- its a standing committee of the house reponcable for timetabling and the rules (e.g. if amendements acan be made) and time frame of its debate
1. mebership of both parties but more of the majority part
2. dessions made though a majority vote
what is a confirence committee
- they are esentually try make the bill that has gone through the house an teh senate one bill
- membours of both the house and the senate
- once this is doen the bill is voted on on the floor of each house again ( they only do this with about 10% of bills, party leaderships reconsile the rest)
what is a select committee + example
- incharge of invesigations if it doesnt fit neetltly nto a specifci policy area or if it going to take up alot of tiem
- 2014 select committee to look into hillary clintons ( secuartry of state for obama) actiosn surrounfing teh 2012 terror attack in Benghazi taht killed a US ambasidor. hearings begun in 2014 but tehy delayed teh report till 2016 when she was running for president - this also lead to the emaisl scandel. - partizan
explain the hillary clinton investigation
- 2014 select committee to look into hillary clintons ( secuartry of state for obama) actiosn surrounfing teh 2012 terror attack in Benghazi taht killed a US ambasidor. hearings begun in 2014 but tehy delayed teh report till 2016 when she was running for president - this also lead to the emaisl scandel.
how are committee chairs desided + example
- usaully tehy have to be from the majority party (seniority rules)
- can only be chair 3 terms or 6 years
- in a way they are clsoe to being party leaders or equivilant heads of governement departmemts
1. they controle the committees agenda
1. deside when thwy will meet
2. the controle the committee budget
3. spokes person for the white house or the media
4. report legistaion to the floor
5. make requests to the house rules committee for time tabling - Biden was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for twelve years
give an example of a congress rejecting a presidency nomination to an execuative office
- Bush john towers 1989 as secuatry of defense
- would have rejevcted nera tanden biden 2021 but non wasnt made. this was for head of the OMB and it was becuse of offensive tweets
what are teh three types of represenation models
- the represenatation model - congress ahs to refect the makup of socioty inorder to effectovely represent it
- the trusteee model- a represenative can successfully represent peopel whom tehy do not share teh same social profiling of
- the delligate model - should act as the mouth piece for their district
how socially represenative is congress examples
- every congress ( exlusing 2009 has been more representative than the last since 2000
- however 76% of congress are white vs 61% of the us population
- 27% are women
- 12.9% black vs 13.4% of US POP - THIS IS GOOD
what % of congress are white vs the US population
- 76% of congress are white vs 61% of the us population
give example thats congess is and isnt representaive over all
- only 13% of the US ppulation approve of the work of congress
- however 96% rellected
- 27% women
- 78% white vs 61% of the population
- hower 96% of reps are reelected
- for example the vast majority of ameican want gun controle but less than 50% of congress do
by how much has voting decresed in the house and the senate 2007-2016
- from 2007 to 2016 voting has decresed int he house by 500 and in the senate 300
how has the partizanship changed in congress since the 1980s + why
- it has become alot more ideological and partizan
- the left has shifted to the right meanehile the right has shifted even further to the right
- before air travel congress men would have to live in washinton but now there is the idea of people not being true to their state if they do this menaing they are likly to lose electiosn. therefore they dont mix in washington and congress ahs become more partizan
given an exaple of the senate becoming more partizan in 2010
in 2010 9 senate “centrist candiates were up for relecteion. 4 retired 4 were defeted and 1 dies
what is pork barrel legistaion + example
Pork barrel legislation is legislation that funds initiatives in the legislator’s home district. Pork barrel projects are added to the federal budget by members of the appropriation committees of Congress. It is included to get a specific congresson man or woman to vote on a piece of legistaion they might not otherwise vote for
The most famous recent example of pork barrel legislation was for the “Bridge to Nowhere,” cost hundreds of millions Alaskan bridge that was supposed to connect Gravina Island’s 50 residents with the Alaskan mainland. after public controversy wasnt built. apart of transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century 1998
what is a cloture motion
Cloture is a Senate motion to end a filibuster, and it requires the approval of 60 senators.
what is log rolling
Logrolling is the process by which legislators trade favors. One representative might agree to vote for another member’s bill in return for support on his or her own bill.
give an exqple of congress not being partizan in 1982 vs now
- in 1982 there was an ideoloogical overlap of both parties of over 60% overlap in voting , with that many congress men or women willign to vote with the other party. Now there are basically no cases where this happens
list teh points that parties are important in congress and arnt
3-2
- yes - leadership in congress is run by parties
1. they have alsot of power in reconsiling bills, witch tehy do with 90% and in the senate over the time table.
2. however both are involved in timetablign so there is some kind of a consensus
3. party leaders is week. they have no dirrect power over their party like with collective reponcabillity in the uk
1
- yes- commitees are organsied via teh makup of parties in cogress
1. they are the most important part of the legistagitve prosses and deside what bill make it to and dont make it to the floor.
2
- yes- incresed patizanship party is teh primary vote determining factor in congress (and without a unified congress there is gridlock)
1. if there is a devided congss no bills will pass
2. big bills are always passed under a unified congress. e.g. obama care 2010 DD, the tax cuts and jobs act 2018 RR, and the inflation reduction act DD
3
- no- partys have no controle over wicth represenatives are dirrectly selected for primaries or congress
2. there are even three “inderpendents” - berni sanders and kirrsten sinnema and angus king
3. however they all will vote democrat and are inderpendent because tehy are almost too left wing
1. however this usually just results in more ideological canidates as thoes lily to vote in primarites are ideologys.
4
- no - views of consituents can out weigh party views
1. jow manion reducing the inflation redution act to spening $400 billion on clean every rather than $3 trillion as a large portion of westvirginias industry is coal
2. could only do this becuse teh senate was at a 50/50 split - no- caucuses
1. The caucus consists of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans, and its members work together to develop and promote bipartisan legislation on various issues such as healthcare. 58 mebers the Problem Solvers Caucus
2. becaome more partizan, e.g 2019 congressional black caus rejecyted a republican menerber.
list the difficulties of passing legislation through congress
- complicated and crowded prosses
- week party leadership
- divided governments
- consitutional limmitations
list all the congressional causes you need to know about
- the blue dogs coallision
- the tuseday group
- the house freedom caucus
- the congressioank hispanic caucus
- the congressional black caucus
- the senadet and house democratic and republican caucus
what do caucuses do
- represent a specific group in congress
1. educate other congres men and women
2. preject their agenda
what do the senadet and house democratic and republican caucus do ?
electing leadership ( administrative)
what is the “centre rebublican” and right wing republican caucuses + their significance in congress + their membourship
- center= the tuseday group 44 members
- right= the house freedom caucus 50 (public membours) - very presigous membours
1. kevin macsthy has to and offten struggles to formualte legislation to get both groups on side.
give some facts about the congresional black caucus
- historically non partiza but rejected a republican representative in 2019
- membours have included raphiel worlock, obama and camilla harris
1. membours sponcered The Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 was a law enacted by the United States Congress. The law imposed sanctions against South Africa.
