USA - Congress Flashcards
Which powers do only the House have?
- Initiate money bills
- Impeachment
- Elect President if Electoral College is deadlocked
How visually representative is Congress?
Not very representative at all In the 2009-2010 Congress there were: 75 Women in the House 17 Women in the Senate 39 African-Americans in the House 1 African-American in the Senate 23 Hispanic-Americans in the House 2 Hispanic-Americans in the Senate The average age of the House is 56 and the average age of the Senate is 63
Which powers do only the Senate have?
- Confirm appointments
- Ratify treaties
- Try cases of impeachment
- Elect Vice-President if Electoral College is deadlocked
Which powers do the House and Senate share?
- Pass Legislation
- Override the President’s veto
- Initiate constitutional amendments
- Declare War
- Confirm a newly appointed Vice-President
Name a Senate standing committee
- Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry- Tom Harkin
- Appropriations- Daniel Inouye
- Armed Services- Carl Levin
- Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs- Christopher Dodd
- Budget- Kent Conrad
- Commerce, science and Transportation- John Rockfeller
- Energy and Natural Resources- Jeff Bingaman
- Environment and Public Works- Barbara Boxer
- Finance- Max Baucus
- Foreign Relations- John Kerry
- Health, Education, Labor and Pensions- Edward Kennedy
- Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs- Joseph Lieberman
- Judiciary- Patrick Leahy
- Rules and Administration- Dianne Feinstein
- Small Business and Entrepreneurship- Mary Landrieu
- Veterans’ Affairs- Daniel Akaka
Name a House standing committee
- Agriculture- Collin Peterson
- Appropriations- David Obey
- Armed Services- Ike Skelton
- Budget- John Spratt
- Education and Labor- George Miller
- Energy and Commerce- Henry Waxman
- Financial Services- Barney Frank
- Foreign Affairs- Howard Berman
- Homeland Security- Bennie Thompson
- Judiciary- John Conyers
- Natural Resources- Nick Rahall
- Oversight and Government Reform- Edolphus Towns
- Rules- Louise Slaughter
- Science and Technology- Bart Gordon
- Small Business- Nydia Velazquez
- Transportation and Infrastructure- James Oberstar
- Veterans’ Affairs- Bob Filner
- Ways and Means- Charles Rangel
Name an appointment made by a President rejected by the Senate
- Robert Bork - Supreme Court - President Ronald Reagan - Committee Vote: 5-9 - Senate floor vote: 42-58
- John Tower - Defence Secretary - President George H.W. Bush - Committee Vote: 9-11 - Senate floor vote: 47-53
Name a recent appointment made by a President accepted by the Senate
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg - Supreme Court - President Bill Clinton - Committee Vote: 18-0 - Senate floor Vote: 96-3
- Hillary Clinton - Secretary of State - President Barack Obama - Committee Vote: 16-1 - Senate floor Vote: 94-2
Name the 7 stages in the Legislative process:
- First reading
- Committee stage
- Timetabling
- Second reading
- Third reading
- Conference committee (optional)
- Presidential action
What happens at the first reading?
It’s a formality where the bill is proposed, there’s no debate and no vote
What happens at the Committee stage?
This is where most bills fail, committees have the power to reject bills and to make changes they wish to make
They review the bill and decide whether or not to pass it into the next stage
What happens at the Second reading?
This is the first opportunity for the full chambers to debate a bill
In the Senate this is also the opportunity for Filibusters
What happens in the Third reading?
This is the final opportunity to debate the bill, as it may have changed since the beginning of the second reading
What happens at the (optional) Conference committee?
This can occur if there are differences between the House and the Senate versions of the bill, it aims to reconcile the differences, although is rarely used
Name 3 factors that could effect the way a Congressman may vote
- Their Political party
- Their Constituents
- The administration (The Executive)
- Pressure groups
- Colleagues and staff
- Personal beliefs
