2. Legislature

Question 1

Advantages & Disadvantages of Congress’ bicameral nature

Answer 1

Advantages - Both chambers have similar powers to legislate meaning that bills are properly considered making it possible for stronger laws to be passed and preventing legislative excessive from a single chamber. E.g. The 2006 Flag Desecration Amendment would have impeded on the right to freedom of speech by making burning the American flag illegal. It passed in the House but failed in the Senate

Disadvantages - Lengthy process to pass legislation especially due to the concurrent legislative process. E.g. at the end of debating the Senate and House will likely have two very different-looking bills meaning sometimes a Conference Committee is required. In the 107th Congress, it was used 7 times

Question 2

Advantages & Disadvantages of the election system for Congress

Answer 2

Advantage - Allows constant electoral scrutiny of the legislative branch by having elections every 2 years meaning while not all seats are re-elected those that are give a strong indication of the public’s attitude towards the current political context. E.g. Obama only had a majority of Democrats in the House during his first 2 years and for the remaining 6 the Republicans had control.

Disadvantage - with seats in both houses up for election every 2 years, the chances of divided government in the US are high which has become increasingly prevalent in recent history. E.g. between 1901-1969 in just 2 of the 34 Congresses were the House and Senate controlled by 2 different parties. On the other hand, the last 3 Congresses have been controlled by two separate parties

Question 3

Advantages & Disadvantages of the distribution of seats

Answer 3

Advantage - there is roughly equal distribution of seats in Congress for population in the House and states in the Senate meaning both are represented evenly in the law making process E.g the lowest population state, Wyoming has 1 representaitve, whereas the largest California has 52.

Disadvantage - can be said that in the Senate there is an over-emphasis of the states as Wyoming, the state with the smallest population, and California, with the largest population, having equl representation in the Senate is clearly undemocratic

Question 4

Composition of Congress - Gender

Answer 4

In 2001-2002 there was only 13.5% women in the House and 14% in the Senate.

Whereas, in 2017-2018 there was 19% women in the House and 21% in the Senate.

Despite not being proprotional to society, the nubmber of women has been steadily increasing over the years continuously.

Still quite far off the around 50% of citizens that are women

Question 5

Composition of Congress - Black and Latino

Answer 5

In 2001-2002 there was 12.5% Black and Latino in the House and 0% in the Senate

In 2017-2018 there was 17% Black and Latino in the House and 7% in the Senate.

The number of African Americans in the Senate has varied over the years but the number in the House has steadily risen over the years.

Still far under the percentage of the country that is black and Latino at 31%

Question 6

Composition of Congress - Religion

Answer 6

In 2017:

In the US population there are 69.5% Christians. In the House 90% of members are Christian and 88% of the Senate is Christian.

In the US population there are 2% Jewish. In the House 5.1% of members are Jewish and 8% in the Senate.

In the US population there are 1% Mulism. In the House 0.5% of members are Muslim and 0% in the Senate

Question 7

Composition of Congress - LGBT

Answer 7

In 2001-2002 there were 3 openly LGBTQ members in the House and 0 in the Senate

In the 118th Congress, there are 11 openly gay LGBTQ members in the House and 2 in the Senate

However, LGBTQ people remain underrepresented in Congress. The 13 current members of Congress account for about 2% of Congress but they make up 6.5% of the population.

Question 8

The powers of Congress - Overriding the president’s veto

Answer 8

e.g. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 - Trump’s Presidential Veto overridden by the House in a 322-87 vote and overridden in the Senate by an 81-13 vote

The 2/3 requirement to overturn a veto can make it quite difficult to overturn a veto even if a bill is largely bipartisan e.g. Iran War Powers Resolution – May 06 2020 - Trump vetoed bipartisan resolution of Congress to limit President’s use of military force against Iran

Question 9

The powers of Congress - Confirming appointments

Answer 9

Congress can choose not to confirm cabinet positions e.g. In 2017 President Trump’s nomination for Secretary of Labor, Andrew Pudzer did not reach the required number of votes to be confirmed

President can choose to form policy with use of their EXOP advisors which the majority of don’t require Senatorial confirmation e.g. President Trump used the NSC as a more political role when he placed his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, as head of the NSC

Question 10

The powers of Congress - Ratifying treaties

Answer 10

Congress can choose not to ratify a treaty made by the President e.g. On October 13th 1999, the Republican controlled Senate rejected the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed by Democrat President Bill Clinton

executive agreements are essentially just international treaties that don’t require ratification by the Senate
e.g. 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - the Iran Nuclear Deal. Was an agreement where Iran would reduce its stockpile uranium stopping it from mkaing nuclear bombs

Question 11

The powers of Congress - Initiating Constitutional amendments

Answer 11

They are able to initiate amendment to the constitution e.g. 27 amendments have been successfully proposed by Congress and passed by the states

However, it still requires ratification by 3/4 of the states, placing a large check on this power e.g. DC Voting Rights Amendment to give full Congressional representation to DC which passed both houses of Congress in 1978, but only received 16 state ratifications by the end of the 7 year deadline

Question 12

The powers of Congress - Impeaching and removing the president

Answer 12

The House of Reps can vote to order an impeachment of the President, and the Senate can vote on whether to remove them from office with 2/3

In February 2021, the second impeachment of President Trump began, after the US Capitol attack, though the Senate vote did not meet the 2/3 majority required

Has never actually worked before

Question 13

The powers of Congress - Power of the purse (essay plan)

Answer 13

House of Representatives alone can begin appropriations bills, although Senate can amend

Are able to shape government policy through deciding which executive department get more or less funding when it comes to the annual budget for the US government e.g. In the 2018 budget, President Trump requested that the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) be cut by 1/3. Despite being from the same party, House Republicans instead proposed a budget cut of just 6% for the EPA

Are able to block action that the president is taking through withdrawing all funding to it e.g. Obama’s 2009 executive order aimed to close Guantanamo Bay within the year, but Congress passed the Supplemental Appropriations Act 2009 to block funds for transfer or release of detainees, despite a Democrat majority in both Houses

Can force the executive government to submit to congressional demand or face a government shut down e.g. In October 2013 no agreement was made and parts of the federal government shutdown for 16 days when Republicans demanded the spending bill include provisions to strip funding from Obamacare or delay its implementation

Question 14

The powers of Congress - Declaring War

Answer 14

Only Congress can declare war on another country

Last used in WW2 but Congress has also been asked to authorize the use of troops most commonly through the Authorization for Use of Military Forces (AUMFs). Used by Bush, Obama and Trump to justify their actions in 14 countries since 2001

However, the President as commander in chief of the military does not need Congressional approval to deploy troops (but power of the purse)

Question 15

The power of Congress - legilsation - timetabling

Answer 15

The House uses the House Rules Committee

The Senate has a unanimous consent agreement- an agreement between the Senate majority and minority leaders on the order in which bills will be debated on the Senate floor.

Question 16

The powers of Congress - legislation - floor debate and vote on passage (fillibusters on the Senate floor)

Answer 16

Influencial - they can raise public awareness e.g. in 2013, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas spoke non-stop for just over 21 hours on the Affordable Care Act-making this the 4th longest filibuster in history. This also made him a leader of the conservative movement.

Not influencial - in the Senate restrictions have been introduced e.g. in 1975 the number of senators needed to pass a colture was reduced to 3/5 (60) of the Senate. In 2013 the use of fillibustering during ratification of nominees by the president was prevented expect for on Supreme court nominees but this was changed in 2017 to including SCOTUS nominees.

Question 17

The powers of Congress - legislation - vote on passage

Answer 17

Influencial - they can effectivley scrutinise the bills enusirng they uphold their values. Obama’s healthcare reform legislation in 2010 had 7 separate votes- 4 in the House and 3 in the Senate (15 months)

Not influencial - The 112th Congress (2011-12) was the least productive in terms of legislation of any recent Congress with only 284/12,299 (just over 2%) bills introduced becoming law. A typical Congress gets, anything between 10,000 to over 14,000 bills but only around 2,496 actually make it into law- incredibly smal

Question 18

The powers of Congress - legislation - presidential action

Answer 18

Signing into law - March 2010 signing by Obama of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act shows off the Presidents support for the bill. Can become a big media event

Leaving it on the desk - the presidents has no position, or would like to veto but knows they would be overridden. Will become law without signature in 10 congressional working days.

Regular veto success - In the 228 years between 1789 and the end of Obama’s 2nd term in Jan 2017, presidents have used the regular veto 1,508 times, and only 111 (7%) have been overridden by Congress.

Regular veto failure - 2008, Congress overrode George W. Bush’s veto of the Medicare Improvements Bill by votes of 383-41 in the House and 70-26 in the Senate. It was Bush’s 4th defeat in 11 vetoes in 8 years.

Pocket veto success - Clinton was the last to use it on the Consumer Bankruptcy Overhaul Bill in December 2000.

Pocket veto failure - George W. Bush claimed to have used the power in Dec 2007 when he killed the National Defense Authorisation Bill. However, the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected this, saying that the House was technically still in session at the time. In early 2008, Congress passed the bill again in a slightly amended form and the President signed it into law.

Question 19

Strengths of the legislative process

Answer 19

Lengthy process - ensures scrutiny of legislation and ensures the quality, popularity and workability of laws that are passed e.g. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts began in November of 2017 and passed in December 2017. Went through both the Senate and House and then went to a Conference Committee where the disagreements were settled.

The equality of the houses - ensures that the need of both the people and the states are heard, with compromise being integral to the process e.g. conference committees, although the 2 houses in recent years have been able to settle difference informally such as in the 113th Congress (2013-15) the number of times it was used was just 2

Supermajorities - the requirement of them for the veto override and a cloture motions helps to prevent tyranny of the majority e.g. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 - Trump’s Presidential Veto overridden by the House in a 322-87 vote and overridden in the Senate by an 81-13 vote

Question 20

Weaknesses of the legislative process

Answer 20

Lengthy process - makes the process challenging and as the congressional session is so short the chance of passing legislation is limited. E.g 2017-2019, the 115th Congress turned 443 out of over 10,000 (4%) bills into laws

The equality of the houses - when both houses are united in one political ideology scrutiny of legislation is reduced through party dominance. e.g. in Obama’s first 2 years as president 2009-2011 there was a Democrat majority in both houses

Supermajorities - can lead to tyranny of the minority e.g. In the 228 years between 1789 and the end of Obama’s 2nd term in Jan 2017, presidents have used the regular veto 1,508 times, and only 111 have been overridden by Congress.

Question 21

Congress is significant at policy making

Answer 21

Congress can pass laws on a wide range of policy issues e.g. the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act was about increasing funding to educate disadvantaged students. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) in 2010 which expanded the Medicaid program

In times of unified government, significant legislative achievements can be made e.g. the passage of Trump-supported Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017 which reduced taxes for businesses and individuals and removed the ‘individual mandate’ set up in Obamacare which made a requirement for each individual to have at least a minimum coverage of healthcare insurance. This was despite the Republican party not fully being united behind Trump

The Supremacy clause of the Constitution ensures that congressional law is superior to state law. States are therefore bound to follow legislation that they do not approve of E.g. In United States v Arizona 2012, the court struck down 3 provisions of an Arizona immigration law as they encroached on areas of congressional authority to regulate immigration

Question 22

Congress is not significant at policy making

Answer 22

Being dependent on the states to enforce laws, Congress has found its laws ignored e.g. Marijuana remains federally illegal, yet an increasing number of states have passed legislation legalising it in 9 states recreationally and 30 medically

The difficulty of creating and passing legislation means that Congress does not pass huge amounts of legislation. E.g. 2017-2019, the 115th Congress turned 443 out of over 10,000 bills into laws. Additionally, Congress failed to pass any meaningful immigration reform despite bipartisan efforts in the Senate and support from President Obama

Laws passed by Congress can be overturned by both the president and Supreme Court e.g. In the 228 years between 1789 and the end of Obama’s 2nd term in Jan 2017, presidents have used the regular veto 1,508 times, and only 111 have been overridden by Congress. The Supreme Court ruled in the National Federation of Independent Business v Sebellius 2012 striking down the section of the 2010 Affordable Care Act which forced states to participate in an expansion of the federal-state Medicaid programme or lose all federal funding for Medicaid

Question 23

The Committee system - standing committees - confirmation of appointments (senate only)

Answer 23

Influential - It was the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committees that refused to hold hearings on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Merrick Garland in 2016

Not influential - The vote is not decisive- only recommendatory- but it is a very important clue to the likely outcome of the nomination e.g. Clarence Thomas when in the Judiciary Committee failed to receive a favorable recommendation on a 7–7 vote yet he was still voted in by the Senate to the Supreme Court in 1991 on a 52-48 vote

Question 24

The Committee system - standing committees - scrutiny of legilsation

Answer 24

Responsible for legislation and scrutiny of the executive branch. Also, begins confirmation of appointments (Senate only)

Influential - can dictate the legislation that goes onto the House and Senate floor by pigeonholing a bill, meaning it can stop legislation

Not influential - standing committee members are allocated proportionally to the chamber they are from meaning that the majority party has the majority of seats in the committee, undermining the effectiveness at scrutinising partisan legislation

Question 25

The Committee system - House Rules committee

Answer 25

Responsible for the timetabling of legislation in the House of Representatives

Influential - Responsible for prioritising bills coming from the committee stage on to the House floor for their debate and votes. They can also set rules: open rules mean unlimited amendments, provided they are relevant to the bill, modified (or restrictive) rules which limits the total number of amendments/ the sections that can be amended, and who can propose them. Finally, closed rules which forbid any amendments

Not influential - If they fail to give a rule to a popular bill, members can resort to the discharge process which must be signed by an absolute majority of House (218) and if achieved,the bill is discharged and automatically goes to the House floor E.g. in 2002 on the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, and in 2015 they forced a vote on a bill to re-authorise America’s Export-Import Bank, the official export credit agency of the federal government

Question 26

The Committee system - Conference committees

Answer 26

Responsible for reconciling differences in legislation

Influential - they reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions of the same bill which is then voted on by them. This is significant as they are likely to create the final version of the bill E.g. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts began in November of 2017 and passed in December 2017. Went through both the Senate and House and then went to a Conference Committee where the disagreements were settled.

Not influential - 113th Congress (2013-15) the number of times it was used was just 2 in comparison to the 104th Congress (1995-97) where 37 conference reports were adopted.

Question 27

The Committee system - select committees

Answer 27

Responsible for special investigations (both houses or joint), nearly all are ad hoc

Influential - Select committees can put a large spotlight on any executive government failure to bring public attention to it e.g. The 2014 Benghazi Hearings saw a large amount of scrutiny of former secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her failure to address security concerns at US facilities in Benghazi

Not influential - Not influential as committee members are allocated proportionally to the chamber they are from meaning that the majority party has the majority of seats in the committee meaning scrutiny can become a partisan issue e.g. Benghazi Hearings in 2014, saw a huge amount of House oversight on Hillary Clinton most likely done to damage her image as she was the front-runner for the Democratic Party’s bid on presidency in 2016

Question 28

The Committee system - committee chairs

Answer 28

Influential - They can make requests to the House Rules Committee (in the House) and the party leadership (in the Senate) for scheduling of legislation on the House floor
Report legislation to the floor of their respective chamber on behalf of the full committee. This allows them to influence the bills that will be presented to Congress based on what they see as important which is dependent on the committee they chair

Not influential - restrictions have been placed on how long them can chair. The Republicans in both the House and the Senate amended the seniority rule by adopting term limits for committee chairs when they are in the majority. Republicans in both houses now have a 3-term limit of 6 years

Question 29

Partys in Congress - party leadership

Answer 29

Significant - Helps if the president and the majority party leadership are the same party and have a warm personality. E.g. Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton can more easily develop good relations with members of Congress meaning their ability to persuade is stronger than a more private and solitary president like Barack Obama.

Not significant - struggle if they have poor relations with the speaker or don’t have the majority in both houses. E.g. Obama only had 2 years of the majority party in the House and for 6 in the Senate. George W. Bush was known to have a somewhat frosty relationship with the Democrat Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, during his last 2 years

Question 30

Parties in Congress - increased partisanship

Answer 30

Significant - Due to increased polarisation within US politics, there has been an increased level of voting in Congress that is split down party lines e.g, In 2002 both houses of Congress recorded party unity votes in the low end of 40% and now in both houses of Congress party unity vote are in the high end of 70%

Not significant - However, just because members of Congress are of the same party of the President, it does not mean they will necessarily support their proposals e.g. Obama’s 2009 executive order aimed to close Guantanamo Bay within the year, but Congress passed the Supplemental Appropriations Act 2009 to block funds for transfer or release of detainees, despite a Democrat majority in both Houses

Question 31

Parties in Congress - congressional caucuses

Answer 31

Significant - Members of the House Freedom Caucus were at the centre of the movement to force House Speaker John Boehner to resign in September 2015 and Paul Ryan announced his willingness to stand to replace Boehner as Speaker only after the Freedom Caucus officially endorsed him in 2015

-The bipartisan Congressional Steel Caucus fights for the health of domestic steel industry. On President Trump’s introduction of a 25% tariff on foreign steel in 2018 the chair of the caucus made a statement thanking Trump for listening to them.

Not significant - Caucus can gradually fall out of relevance and usage by members of Congress e.g. The Tea Party Caucus promoting a reduction in the national debt and federal budget cuts essentially became defunct in 2016 due to inactivity

Question 32

Factors affecting voting in Congress - political parties

Answer 32

Large impact - Due to increased polarisation within US politics, there has been an increased level of voting in Congress that is split down party lines e.g, In 2002 both houses of Congress recorded party unity votes in the low end of 40% and now in both houses of Congress party unity vote are in the high end of 70%

Small impact - However, just because members of Congress are of the same party of the President, it does not mean they will necessarily support their proposals e.g. Obama’s 2009 executive order aimed to close Guantanamo Bay within the year, but Congress passed the Supplemental Appropriations Act 2009 to block funds for transfer or release of detainees, despite a Democrat majority in both Houses

Question 33

Factors affecting voting in Congress - Administration

Answer 33

Large impact - President’s can attempt to persuade Congess to get votes to go their way e.g. In an important budget vote in the House in 1993, Clinton phoned Democrat House member Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky in a hallway just off the chamber of the House. She cast the crucial 218th vote to ensure passage of his budget by 218 votes to 216.

Small impact - while the President can attempt to persuade Congress they aren’t always successful e.g. In 2011 Obama was frustrated by the slow recovery in the nation’s economy and wanted to go on the record to show his support for a major new stimulus package currently in Congress, The American Jobs Act. The Republican speaker refused Obama to talk no the 7th of Septmeber when the Republicans were announcing their 2012 candidates which had scheldued televised debate

Question 34

Factors affecting voting in Congress - pressure groups and lobbyists

Answer 34

Large impact - Can use scorecards to use public pressure to convince Congress members to vote their way e.g. the AFL-CIO published its Senate Scorecard for the first session of the 114th Congress in 2015, it ranked each Senator on how it had voted on what the AFL-CIO considered as its 14 key votes during that year, with 22 (Democrat) Senators having a 100% rating for agreeing with the AFL-CIO on all 14 key votes, and 2 (Republican) Senators who got 0%

Small impact - The number of registered lobbyists in Washington D.C have fallen to a little over 10,000 in 2018 but their spending had increased to over $3 billion annually - money paid by companies to ensure positive outcomes in Congress

Question 35

Factors affecting voting in Congress - constituency

Answer 35

Large impact - part of the amendments to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2018, saw copywrited songs being once again defined as capital assessts, and therefore subjected to a lower tax rate. This was apparently a request made by House of Representatives member Diane Black whose district covered parts of Nashville, famed for songwriting and country music

Small impact -

Question 36

Congress is effective at representation

Answer 36

The representation of minority groups and woman has improved in recent decades - In 2001-2002 there was only 59 women in the House and 14 in the Senate whereas, in 2017-2018 there was 83 women in the House and 21 in the Senate. In 2001-2002 there was 18 Hispanic/Latinos in the House and 0 in the Senate whereas, in 2017-2018 there was 34 in the House and 4 in the Senate.

Parties are well represented in an increasingly partisan environment, and reflect a partisan American population -

Both the people of a state and the wider state interests are represented by the two elected houses - the lowest population state, Wyoming has 1 representative, whereas the largest California has 52.

Question 37

Congress is ineffective at representation

Answer 37

Representation of some minority groups still remains below their proportion of the national population with the overrepresentation of others - LGBTQ people remain underrepresented in Congress. The 13 current members of Congress account for about 2% of Congress but they make up 6.5% of the population.

Increasingly partisan voting patterns lead to a good representation of the majority at the expense of representation of, or compromise with, the minority -

The importance of money in electoral campaigns can allow lobbyists to influence members of Congress more that constituents or state - Pharmaceutical companies have donated over $2.5 billion from 2009-2019, with 90% of House members and 97% of Senate members having received pharmaceutical campaign contributions.

Question 38

Congress is effective at oversight

Answer 38

Veto - Congress has demonstrated a willingness to use the veto override, in some cases to great effect - in 2008, Congress overrode George W. Bush’s veto of the Medicare Improvements Bill by votes of 383-41 in the House and 70-26 in the Senate. It was Bush’s 4th defeat in 11 vetoes in 8 years.

Extensive scrutiny - during times of divided government, the presidents likely to face extensive scrutiny from Congress. Almost all modern examples of the Senate’s rejection of presidential nominations have come when the president’s party has not controlled the Senate. e.g. The Democrat Senate in 1987 rejected Republican president Reagan’s nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. The Republican Senate which, in 1999, rejected both Bill Clinton’s nomination of Ronnie White to be a federal trial court judge and his Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Impeachment - it has twice been used to its fullest extent

Question 39

Congress is ineffective at oversight

Answer 39

Veto - The chances to veto override being effective are outweighed by the chance of failure, given the requirement of a supermajority e.g. In the 228 years between 1789 and the end of Obama’s 2nd term in Jan 2017, presidents have used the regular veto 1,508 times, and only 111 have been overridden by Congress.

Extensive scrutiny - Oversight can sometimes appear party political rather than in the interests of good policy, and this is increasingly true in the case of party-line votes on appointments e.g. In 2018 Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed 50-48 with only 1 Democrat crossing the party line

Impeachment - it has proven difficult to enact to effectively remove someone from office e.g. In February 2021, the 2nd impeachment of President Trump began, after the US Capitol attack, though the Senate vote did not meet the 2/3 majority required

Question 40

The Senate is more prestigious than the House of Representatives

Answer 40

More exclusive as there are less of them

Hold their position for an extra 4 years

Hold a greater responsibility as they are representing a whole state

More likely to chair a committee or subcommittee or hold some other leadership position

Seen as a recruiting pool for presidential and vice presidential candidates

Possess significant exclusive powers

House members frequently seek election to the Senate, but not the other way around

Question 41

The Senate is not more prestigious than the House of Representatives

Answer 41

Have equal powers in the passing of legislation

Both must approve constitutional amendments

Both conduct oversight of the executive branch

Both receive equal salaries

Still represent their state despite it being on a smaller level so it is important they make their areas views and feelings heard

Have more regular elections so accountability and public approval is therefore needed- creates a reason for hard work and upholding dignity- constantly scrutinised

Question 42

The differences in the legislative process

Answer 42

Committees
Legislation starts in the House
Representative role- House less, Senate more
More House than Senate
Timetabling

Question 43

Similarities in the legislative process

Answer 43

Concurrent
Have to agree to the same piece of legislation
Same process