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US Congress - Alan Flashcards

1
Q

How many seats in the HoR

A

435

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2
Q

Requirements for HoR

A

25 years old
Resident
US citizen for at least 7 years

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3
Q

How long are house terms

A

2 years

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4
Q

HoR powers

A

Power to impeach

Elect president if no candidate wins over 50% of the EC

Begin the consideration of money bills

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5
Q

How many members does the senate have

A

100 - 2 per state

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6
Q

How often is the senate elected

A

Every 6 years
1/3 every two years

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7
Q

Senate requirements

A

30 years old
US citizen for at least 9 years
Resident in state they represent

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8
Q

Senate only powers

A
  • try an impeachment case e.g. Trump in 2020 and Clinton in 1998/9… 67% vote required to convict
  • Elect VP if no candidate has over 50% in the EC
  • ratify treaties
  • confirm executive appointments
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9
Q

2 presidents tried for impeachment

A

Trump 2020
Clinton in 1998/9

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10
Q

Powers both houses have

A
  • article 1 gives congress the power to legislative and the need for congress to be elected. Also gives congress the power to declare war.
  • A1 section 8 includes the ‘elastic clause’ to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers.
  • article 2 gives congress the power to overturn a presidential veto with a 2/3rds majority in both houses
  • article 5 sets out Congress’ role in amending the constitution
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11
Q

116th congress

A

Senate: majority leader Mitch McConnell

House: speaker Nancy Pelosi

Senate controlled by Republican

House controlled by Democrat

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12
Q

How many members of the house were female in 2017/18

A

83/435

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13
Q

How many members of the senate were female in 2017/18

A

21/100

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14
Q

How many members of the senate were female in 2018/19

A

25/100

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15
Q

How many members of the house were female in 2018/19

A

106/435

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16
Q

116th congress: how many were white

A

House 313/435
(Incl. 44 Hispanic, 15 Asian and 4 Native American)

Senate 91/100

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17
Q

Delegate model

A

Make decisions based on the wishes of their constituents rather than personal judgement

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18
Q

Trustee model

A

Make decisions based on their own beliefs - voters have put their trust in them to do so
Goes back to ideas of Burke and Maddison

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19
Q

American people vs Congress: Males

A

People 2018 - 49.3%
Congress 73.6%

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20
Q

American people vs Congress: Females

A

People (2018) - 50.7%
Congress (2020) - 26.4%

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21
Q

American people vs Congress: Hispanic

A

People (2018) - 17.6%

Congress (2018) - 5.9%

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22
Q

Examples of presidents NOT losing seats mid term

A

Clinton 1998

Bush 2002

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23
Q

Mid term election seeing big national campaigns leading to a clear mandate for house speaker example

A

‘100 hour Agenda’ - Nancy Pelosi 2006

6 day programme including increasing the minimum wage and halving interest rates on student loans.

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24
Q

Mid-term leading to presidents losing seats examples

A

Obama - lost the house in 2010 and senate in 2014

Trump - lost the house in 2018

25
Incumbency in house and senate example
2016 97% House 90% Sebate Dropped to 91% in the House in 2018
26
Gerrymandering example 2012
Gerrymandering is used by Republicans since Obama’s win in 2008, the worst case being in Pennsylvania. The boundaries were redrawn and the Republicans won 13 of the 18 seats up 2012 despite losing by 100,000 to the Democrats.
27
How much more do incumbents raise
Incumbents raise on average 7 times more than challengers
28
Caucuses
There are different factions within the political parties and these often form themselves into caucuses and often vote or make demands as a group giving them greater importance.
29
Caucuses examples
Blue dogs and progressives in the Democrat Party House Freedom Caucus and the Tuesday Group Republicans
30
Caucuses that bring members together across parties
Congressional Black Caucus (non-partisan made up of black members of Congress) Hispanic caucus House Steel Caucus (Congressional members who’s districts include steel works)
31
NRA
NRA - influences the vote of many members of congress and who goes financial support to them, a possible explanation for the failure of gun legislation
32
How many people disapproved of Congress’ job in 2016
In 2016 in a Gallup poll 83% of these asked said they disapproved of the job being done by Congress
33
Stages of legislative process
Introduction/ initiative Committee stage Timetabling/scheduling Debate on the floor of both houses: need 50% of the vote to pass Conference committee Presidential action
34
Chance of a bill passing in Congress
The chance of success is less than 5%
35
Members of the house can challenge decisions made by the house rules committee through discharge petition e.g…….
2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
36
Senate use of filibuster Longest example
Ted Cruz speaking for over 21hours in 2013 to hold up the affordable care act
37
Mandate
Obama made use of this is 2008 however trump lost the popular vote so struggled to achieve anything of note in his early presidency
38
Vote on presidential proposals/ bills initiated by the president… Trump
2017 Trumps’ American Health Care Act was defeated despite Republicans having majorities in both houses
39
Oversight done by congress is done through committees example
Benghazi terrorist attacks in Libya were subject to the scrutiny of 6 committees in the House and 2 in the Senate, leading to 13 reports and over 3,000 questions
40
Committee that plays a key role in scrutinising the executive
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform
41
Power of the purse
Powers of oversight as congress can check how every dollar is being spent by the departments and black their money if they are unhappy. This has lead to major shutdown under Obama and Trump.
42
Oversight: Senate can ratify/ refuse to ratify appointments e.g.
Blocking Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court Merrick Garland but ratifying all three of Trumps appointments
43
Congress checks on judiciary
- amend constitution to overturn judgements - ratify/ refuse to ratify appointments - impeach individual justices - change the number of justices
44
Lack of oversight example
Bush 2001-2006 Start of Obama
45
Overly partisan example
Obama 2011 Trumps last two years
46
Foreign policy
Despite the military powers act of 1973 congress doesn’t have the degree of oversight or powers that it does on domestic policy
47
nationalisation of mid-term elections
Recently mid terms have seen big national campaigns leading to a clear mandate for the house speaker ‘100 hour agenda’ - Nancy Pelosi 2006
48
Partisanship
Partisanship and party unity are far stronger today than they ever have been in the past. The refusal of the majority of Republicans in Congress to contradict Trump’s outlandish claims about voter fraud in the 6 weeks following the election highlights this.
49
Ideologically middle
Very little ideologically middle in Congress with many Democrats becoming increasingly progressive and liberal whilst Republicans become increasingly conservative. Party Unity scores in 1969/70 were around 70 whilst in 2011/12 they were over 90.
50
Confrontational politics
The increasingly confrontational politics in congress has become increasingly significant, compromise and bipartisan approaches are needed to successfully pass legislation (unless one party holds both houses and the presidency) so less legislation is passing (50% less than in 03-06)
51
Inconsistency depending on who is in the White House
There is inconsistency depending on who is in the White House and who holds the Senate e.g. confirmation of Trump’s nomination for the Supreme Court a few weeks before the election compared to the refusal to allow Obama to appoint in the last year of his them.
52
Gridlock
High levels of partisanship plus divided government have lead to massive issues with gridlock in the US. Huge difficulty in passing a stimulus package that will help those economically affected by the COVID crisis. Under Trump we saw a Federal Government shut down of 35 days, the longest in US history. Obama faced opposition to the Affordable Care Act, Trump has failed to repeal it leaving the issue unresolved. Gridlocked Congresses lead President relying on Executive Orders, reducing the role of Congress.
53
Elastic clause
Article 1 section 8, Congress can pass all laws which shall be necessary and proper for the carrying into execution the foregoing powers.
54
Significance and effectiveness of the powers outlined in the constitution
- overriding the president’s veto: only used once on Obama (justice against sponsors of terrorism act) - confirming appointments - ratifying treaties - key check on presidential power in foreign policy - initiating constitutional amendments: significant power but very few passing shows its limitations
55
Power of impeachment
Used against Trump but he survived due to Republican dominance in the Senate. Possibly more about partisanship than proper function.
56
Confirm a new VP
Only when appointed not when elected (only used twice in 1973 and 1974
57
Declare war
Last used in 1941
58
Electing president and VP in case of deadlock in Electoral College
Only used in 1800 and 1824

US Politics (15 decks)

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