U.S. Congress

Question 1

How many members are there in the House and the Senate?

Answer 1

House - 435

Senate - 100 (2 per state)

Question 2

In the 2016 elections, how many representatives did California have? And what was the smallest state and how many did that have?

Answer 2

California - 53

Smallest state was Wyoming, which had 1

Question 3

What are the 3 constitutional requirements for becoming a member of the House of Representatives?

Answer 3

1. Over the age of 25
2. Have been a citizen for 7 years
3. Be a resident of the state or district you represent

Question 4

Is Congress representative or unrepresentative of the USA?

Answer 4

Generally unrepresentative because there are not enough ethnic minority members proportional to ethnic minority citizens in the US

Question 5

How long are Senators terms? And how often are they up for re-election?

Answer 5

6 year terms, one third of the senate up for re-election every two years

Question 6

What are the constitutional requirements to being a Senator?

Answer 6

1. Over 30 years old
2. Have been a US citizen for 9 years
3. Be a resident of the state or district you represent

Question 7

What are the 3 main powers exclusive to the House of Representatives?

Answer 7

1. To begin consideration of all money bills
2. To impeach any member of the executive or judicial branches of the federal government
3. To elect the president if the electoral college is deadlocked

Question 8

Why did the Founding Fathers give the HOR the exclusive power to begin consideration on all money bills?

Answer 8

Because it was the only directly elected chamber at the time the constitution was written

Question 9

Give an example, post 1980’s, of where the HOR has moved to impeachment on a member of the executive branch? And on what counts?

Answer 9

1998, the impeachment of President Bill Clinton on 2 counts

• Perjury (lying under oath)
• The obstruction of justice

Question 10

What are the 4 main exclusive powers of the Senate? And where a power includes a vote to ratify/pass something, what majority is needed?

Answer 10

1. To ratify all treaties negotiated by the President (a 2/3’s majority required to pass)
2. To confirm appointments made by the President (50% majority required)
3. To try cases of impeachment by the House (2/3’s majority required to remove from office)
4. To elect the VP of the US if the Electoral College is deadlocked

Question 11

What is the hidden power of the senate in relation to Presidential nominations? Explain this idea.

Answer 11

The Senate usually always confirms Presidential appointments, however this is because the President will normally only nominate individuals he feels the Senate will confirm. This is the hidden power of the Senate.

Question 12

Give an example, post 1980’s, where the Senate has rejected a Presidential appointment

Answer 12

1999, Clinton’s nomination of Ronnie White to be a judge of the federal trial court

Question 13

Give 5 joint powers of both houses of Congress

Answer 13

1. To pass legislation, including the federal budget (proposed by the President and the Office of Management and Budget)
2. To conduct investigations regarding actions of individuals in the executive branch
3. To initiate the process for constitutional amendment
4. To formally declare war
5. To confirm a newly appointed Vice President

Question 14

Which house has more power in the legislative process? And give an example to support the answer

Answer 14

Both houses are equal in legislative power, this is shown by the fact all legislation must pass through all stages in both houses before it can be signed into law

Question 15

Who is the current Speaker of the House of Representatives?

Answer 15

Paul Ryan

Question 16

Who are the current Majority and Minority Leaders in both the House and the Senate?

Answer 16

House Majority Leader - Kevin McCarthy
House Minority Leader - Nancy Pelosi

Senate Majority Leader - Mitch McConnell
Senate Minority Leader - Chuck Schumer

Question 17

State 3 exclusive powers held by the Speaker of the House

Answer 17

Any 3:

1. Acts as presiding officer of the House (chairs debates)
2. Interprets and enforces the rules of the House
3. Refers bills to committees
4. Appoints select and conference committee chairs
5. May exercise considerable influence on legislation passing through the Houset

Question 18

State 2 notable things Nancy Pelosi did during her time as Speaker, and why were these classed as achievements?

Answer 18

1. She helped push through Obama’s $700m economic stimulus package
2. She helped push through Obama’s Healthcare Reform Legislation
   - These were notable feats because at the time she became speaker, she could not rely on a single Republican vote when voting on legislation

Question 19

State 2 controversial things Newt Gingrich was involved in during his time as Speaker?

Answer 19

1. He caused 2 government shutdowns during the Clinton administration
2. He was charged with 84 ethics violations and fined $300,000 for admitting some of them

Question 20

What was the reason for John Boehner’s resignation as Speaker of the House in 2015?

Answer 20

He was struggling to control a group of unruly, disruptive conservatives in the House, which lead him to several failings on getting legislation through the House

Question 21

How often are both Houses Majority and Minority leaders elected? And who are they elected by?

Answer 21

• Elected every 2 years at the start of each new Congress

- Elected by their own parties representatives and senators

Question 22

Give 3 functions performed by the majority and minority leaders in both houses?

Answer 22

1. Acting as day-to-day directors of operations in their respective houses
2. Holding press briefings to talk about their party’s policy agenda
3. Acting as liaison between Congress and the White House

Question 23

Define standing committees (include main function, size, type and make up of them)

Answer 23

Standing Committees are permanent, policy specialist committees. They have 17-18 members in the Senate and 45-50 members in the House. The party balance in each committee is proportional to each chamber as a whole.

Question 24

What is a Senate ONLY function of standing committees?

Answer 24

To begin the confirmation process of Presidential appointments to the executive and judicial branches

Question 25

What is the point of a conference committee? Why do they exist?

Answer 25

They are temporary committees set up when the two different versions of the same bill need condensing into one after the third reading in both houses

Question 26

What happens to conference committees after they have agreed on a final bill which has been passed by a vote on the floor in each house?

Answer 26

They are disbanded

Question 27

Why has there been a downwards trend in the use of conference committees since 1995? What has been happening instead?

Answer 27

An approach similar to the one in the UK has been taken, where the leading party in one house politely asks the other house to agree with their bill instead