USA Legislative Branch: Congress Flashcards
Structure of Congress
House of Representatives
- 435 members
- 2yr terms
- Based on population
- 7yr US citizen, 25yrs minimum, citizen of state to represent
Senate
- 100 members
- 6yr terms
- 2 senators per state
- 9yr US citizen, 30yrs minimum, citizen of state to represent
Connecticut Compromise
Small states liked the New Jersey plan
- Equal representation in congress
Large states liked the Virginia plan
- Representation based on population
Agreement reached: HOR-population, Senate-2 per state
Roles of Congress
- Passing Legislation
- Representing the people
- Overseeing the executive
Powers of Congress
- Legislative powers
- Initiate constitutional amendments
- Declaring war
- Ratifying treaties (Senate only)
- Confirming presidential appointments (Senate only)
- Congressional oversight
- Overriding presidential veto
- Impeachment
- Electing the President and VP
Representation in Congress
117th Congress
- 27% females
- 9% Hispanic
- 88% Christian
- 52 African Americans in HOR and 3 in Senate
Does Congress perform its legislative function effectively?
Yes
- Major legislation passed during unified government
- Emergency legislation passed, Cares Act of 2020
- Transformable legislation passed, Affordable Care Act of 2010
No
- Only 2-3% of bills become laws
- 112th Congress only 283bills passed, least productive in history
- Gridlock common
- Filibusters
Strom Thurmond Civil Rights act 1957
- Presidential vetoes rarely overturned due to 2/3 in both chambers
Ways in which Congress can perform their oversight role.
- Investigating the executive
Select and standing committees investigate executive actions
2020 Standing Committee on Reform to investigate Trumps covid handling
- Confirming the nominees
Betsy Devos, education secretary, lack of knowledge 50-50, confirmed VP Mike Pence
- Impeachment
2019 Trump, threat to stop aid unless investigate Hunter Biden, Ukraine
2021 Trump, 6th of January Capitol attack
- Treaties Ratification
Nuclear Test treaty of 1999 rejected
Does Congress fulfil its oversight function effectively?
Yes
- Strong oversight during divided government
- Select, Standing committee, high profile scrutiny
- Better scrutiny of unpopular president
- Can impeach presidents (3)
- Senate can refuse to nominee appointments
No
- Weak oversight during unified government
- Hard to scrutinize popular president
- Investigation can be partisan
- No president ever removed
- Congress refused to ratify important treaties
- Senate confirmation of appointments politicized
Power of the purse
- Only congress can tax and allocate funds for the federal government
E.g. 1970s Congress restricted Vietnam funding - Shutdowns can happen
E.g. 2018-2019 Trump Mexico Wall funding 35 day shutdown
Congressional caucuses
Group of member of congress who work together to achieve similar legislative aims
- House Republican caucus all Republicans in the House
- Senate Republican caucus all Republicans in the Senate
- House Democrat caucus all Democrats in the House
- Senate Democrat caucus all Democrats in the Senate
Leadership in Congress
Majority and minority leaders
- Act as ‘floor leaders’ in 2 chambers.
- Plan legislative agenda
- Coordinate their party for votes and debates
- Try to achieve party unity.
Speaker of the House
- Elected by all members of the house
- Preside over debates and keep order
- Determine legislative agenda
- Usually from the biggest party
E.g. Mike Johnson
Standing Committee
- Permanent, focuses on specific policy areas
E.g. foreign affairs or agriculture - 20 standing committees in HOR, 16 in Senate
- Representation based on party proportions
- Hold hearings during committee stage of the bill
Select Committee
- Temporary, set up to deal with specific, urgent issues
- Prevents standing committee overload
- Usually do not work on legislation but investigate issues
- 2017 to 2020 Senate Select Committee on Intelligence - Russian Interference in 2016 election.
House Rules Committee
- Sets rules for bills in the HOR
- Decides how much time a bill gets on the floor and if amendments can be proposed.
E.g. Open Rules: Allow amendments, Closed Rules: No amendments. - 13 members, 2:1 ratio favoring the majority party.
Conference committees
- Temporary committees set up to reconcile 2 bills produced by the HOR and Senate
- Sent back to houses for approval
- Used less often
E.g. 115th Congress 7 reports
