US Congress Flashcards
What does bicameral mean
two chambers - senate and house of representatives
What are the concurrent powers
legislate
oversse the executive through congressional committees e.g Obama failings in Benghazi
override presidents veto if 2/3 of chambers do so
propose constitutional amendments - 2/3 of each
confirm a new VP in the middle of a presdients term
declare war
What are the exclusive powers
House - initiate money bills, impeach public officals, elect the president if the electoral college is deadlocked
Senate - approve or reject ratifcation of treaties and appointment to supreme court, convict and remove public officals, elect VP if electoral college is deadlocked
What is process to be elected into Congress
House - 25+, american citizen for 7+ yrs, resident of state you reperesent
Senate - 30+, american cizitzen for 9+ yrs, resident of state you represent
Secure party nomination in primaries - incumbents usually win (4 representatives defeated in 2024)
win the election (incumbents usually win 10 reps lost in 2024)
Why do incumbents usually have an advantage
financial backing - 2016 average Senator has 6 times their challengers backing and represenentative 8 times
both chambers are based on a senority system
What are the factors for the way congress votes
view of their party - 75% of votes are party votes and PACs that donate to their campaigns have some sway
interest groups - provide committees with evidence and fund re election campaigns
wishes of administration - in return for favours
views of their caucus - vote on relevant issues
views of constituency - more for representatives who are elected every 2 years
their own views
Strengths of congress representation
pros - both elected frequently so need to be responsive to voters
- maintain links to constituencies as aware of issues they face and live in these areas
- meet constituents through surgers, town hall meetings, video conferecing etc.
- sit on committees relevant to their constituents
- join congressional caucuses to represent specific areas
secure theiir states benefits ‘pork barrel politics’
weaknesses of congress representation
doesn’t ressemble the US population
Women US population 50% - H 27.5%, S 24%
many seats are not competitve (91% in the Senate relected, 99%)
gerrymandering wastes votes
may listen more to the views of campaign contributors
turnout in mid terms were very poor at around 40%
US citizens are more heavily
strengths of congress legislative process
they pass many acts per year e.g Respect for Marriage Act (2022), Bipartisan Safe Communities Act (2022)
acts are carefully considered in standing committes whose members develop significant subject expertise
congressional inactions might be seen as a positive for limited government - need bipartisanship through unanimous consent agreements and need for 60 votes to end filibuster
rights of all states are protected
weaknesses of legislative process
congress suffers from legislative gridlock - 10,000 are proposed and fewer than 4% become law
heightened partisanship makes it harder to comprimiseand filifbustering make thsi difficult also
pork barrel politics is often resorted to to get enough support for a bill can can be financially wasteful
conference committees are rarely used meaning knwoledgeable memebers are frozen out of the final decision
are congress’s laws effective
ideological - liberals may like ACA while conservatives see this as meddling wih the freedom of the states
wastefully includes pork barrel projects
being too influenced by interest groups and not listening to public
isnufficent use of conference committees expertise
is there a unified or divide government
depends on the parties controlling each house
2017 Trump has both houses but democrats took the house in 2018 which then launched many congressional investigations into Trump
how strong is the presidents relationship with their own party
if they are popular their party wil be more lenient to them and support their campaign
some presidents might share a similar political outlook while some are ideologoically different e.g Trump was a bigger spender than many fiscal conservatives liked
What are the ways congress can check the executive
amending, delaying and rejecting legislation - 2023 House controlled by repubiclans who propose rival leg
holds committees hearings - hosue committe on Benghazi in 2014
controlling budget - this can shutdown federal gov - Obama 16 days in 2013 over obamacare, Trump 35 days
rejecting presidetial appointments - 2016 refused to hold hearings for Merrick Garland appointment
refuse to ratify treates - Treaty of Versailles 1919
impeach and convict - 1868 Andrew Johnson, 1999 Bill Clinton, 2020 Trump, 2021 Trumo
weaknesses in congress control oever the president
confirmation of appointments is often partisan - 2018 exclty on party lines 51-49 to confirm Brett Kavanugh
committe scrutiny is less foresnic when the chamber is controlled by presidents party - 2017 and 18 Devin Nunes criticsed by his committe not investigating Russian involvement in 2016 election
presidents not questioned by congress
presidents use executive orders
checking foreign policy is week
impeachment is not as pwoerful as it is highly unlikley they will be convicted
how can congress check the power of the supreme court
confirming appointments
constitutional amendments - if they are dissatisfied with a ruling e.g Oregon V Mitchell set voting age at 21 but the 26th amendment lowered this to 18
setting the no. of justices
can impeach and convict a judge
What are the weaknesses in congresses power of the SC
if the president has a majority in the senate confirmations usually get passed easil
consitiutional amednements are difficult to get passed by 3/4 of the states
it is rare to set the no. of justices and may deligitimise the SC by setting a dangerous precedent
impeach and convict is difficult to do
How has parties changed in Congress
more internally united - in 1969 congresspersons voted with their pary 72% of time, 2011 they did 92%
more polarised from each other - republicans have moved much further right
Has Congress become less productive
less bipartisanship - leads to gridlock e.g 2016 Obama requesting $1.9 bn for Zika virus aid but reduces by House republicans and blocked by Senate Deomcrats
tensions between president and house speaker - if they are from different parties they often function as the ‘leader of the opposition’ e.g Paul Ryan v Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Trump
To what extent is bipartisanship still possible
budgets are regularly passed
can vote together to overturn vetos e.g 2016 Obama veto against Justice Against State Sponsors of Terrorism Bill
far more pages of bills are passed because they are more comprehensive
there are still tensions within the party with caucuses
How has congress become more powerful
direct election of senators- legitimacy
the Committee on Oversight and Reform has an important role of scrutiny
Increased partisanship since 1960s to stand up to presedential power e.g blocking Obama from closing Guantanamo bay and Trump from reappealing Obamacare
created a Congressional Budget office to provide economic information
How has congress become less powerful
since 29145 foreign and military policy has dominated which isnt areas Congress specialise in
Congress power to declare war is seldom used
presidents rely on extensive personal staff not subject to Senate confirmation
A number of SC jusgments are protected by states rights limitng Congress power e.g US v Lopz and Federation of Independent Business V Sebilus
