congress Flashcards

1
Q

intention of congress

A

to make it the most powerful branch
(article 1)

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2
Q

money

A

power of the perks

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3
Q

bicameral system

A

legislative assembly composed of two chambers

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4
Q

senate

A

states with long terms

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5
Q

house

A

districts with short terms

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6
Q

qualifications of senate

A

U.S citizen for 9 years
30 years old

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7
Q

qualifications for house

A

U.S citizen for 7 years
25 years old

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8
Q

senate

A

100 members
originally chosen by state legislatures
changed to direct election by the 17th amendment

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9
Q

house

A

435
ranging from 1-52 per state
elected by districts

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10
Q

NV U.S Senate members

A

catherine cortez masto (D)
Jacky rosen (D)

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11
Q

NV U.S House members

A

susie lee (D) district 3
dina titus (D) district 1
Mark Amadei (R) district 2
steven fortsford (D) district 4

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12
Q

NV governer

A

joe lomdardo (R)

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13
Q

U.S senate term

A

6 years

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14
Q

NV house term

A

2 years

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15
Q

congressional districts are relatively

A

homogenous
ideal for organized interests claiming to represent constituents
members tend to specialize in one committee

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16
Q

states are far more heterogenous

A

senators have to be generalists
more open to a wider array of interests

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17
Q

how much of nevada is controlled by the federal government

A

80%

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18
Q

socialogical (descriptive) representative

A

representative shares characteristics, background and interests with constituents

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19
Q

agency ( substantive) representation

A

representative has incentives to act in the constituents interests

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20
Q

backgrounds

A

members of congress
religion: protestant
race and gender: increasing numbers of African Americans, Latinos, and women in the U.S congress but still less than their proportions in populations

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21
Q

representatives as agents

A

legislators learn about the interests of constituents

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22
Q

parties almost never ask a member of congress to vote against

A

constituents interests

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23
Q

delegate

A

a representative who votes according to the preferences. of his or her constituency

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24
Q

house members are most likely to

A

act as delegates

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25
Q

trustees

A

vote on how they personally believe will be good
senators are more likely to act as trustees

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26
Q

introduction of direct primaries are the reasons why

A

candidates self select

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27
Q

3 functions of congress

A

laws, oversight, representation

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28
Q

90% of incumbents get

A

re-elected

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29
Q

incumbency advantage

A

members of congress have an array of tools to keep them in office

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30
Q

constituency services

A

services to directly help constituents

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31
Q

franking privilege

A

newsletters, mail, free mailing

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31
Q

franking privilege

A

newsletters, mail, free mailing

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32
Q

pork barreling (spending for district)

A

little project to get the name out there
* John murtha airport
*spending a lot of money for the sake of spending and putting your name on it

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33
Q

the vast majority of incumbents in safe seats come from districts where

A

the majority of voters are from the same party as they are

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34
Q

the critical election in these districts is the

A

primary

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35
Q

reapportionment

A

the reallocation of seats in the house of representatives every 10 years
occurs every 10 years because of the census

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36
Q

in 2010 nevada went from 3 to

A

4 districts

37
Q

redistricting

A

re drawing of house district lines
occurs every 10 years

38
Q

in most states the state legislatures do

A

redistricting

39
Q

gerrymandering

A

using redistricting to your advantage

40
Q

partisan

A

to benefit a particular party

41
Q

cracking

A

putting different political parties together

42
Q

packing

A

taking all constituents from opposing parties into one district

43
Q

safe seats

A

seats that are probably safe for the party in power

44
Q

open seats

A

seats up for grabs

45
Q

district one is safe for

A

democrats in nv

46
Q

district 2 is safe for

A

republicans in nv

47
Q

pitfalls of incumbency

A

disruptive issues
personal misconduct
turnout violation: the midterm election problem
strong challengers
presidents party tends to lose seats in congress

48
Q

senate and assembly in nv

A

bicameral

49
Q

senate term in nv

A

4 years

50
Q

assembly term in nv

A

2 years

51
Q

term limits in nv

A

12 years

52
Q

nv legislation requirements

A

21 years, 1 year resident, non-felon

53
Q

salary

A

$1160/day for 60 days

54
Q

sessions

A

biennial (every other year in odd numbered years), 120 days

55
Q

speaker of the house is

A

the leader of the majority party

56
Q

both parties elect

A

a majority, minority leader, party whip

57
Q

who determines which of their members sit on various committees

A

parties

58
Q

the vice president officially chairs the senate but

A

only takes the gavel at ceremonial events and in the case of a tie vote

59
Q

who chairs the senate not officially

A

the president pro tempore, but often hands off to another member for routine business

60
Q

who can call special sessions

A

governor

61
Q

who can call itself into special session

A

legislature

62
Q

are standing committees permanent

A

yes

63
Q

what percentage of bills die

A

90%

64
Q

what are select committees

A

formed temporarily to focus on a specific issue
cannot present bills to chamber

65
Q

what are conference committees

A

formed to write the final wording when both chambers pass similar bills that need to be reconciled

66
Q

the number of seats the minority party has on a committee is roughly proportionate to

A

the seats it has in the chamber

67
Q

what determines committee assignments

A

seniority

68
Q

what are established staff agencies

A

legislative support agencies responsible for policy analysis

69
Q

congressional research service

A

research arm of congress

70
Q

congressional budget office

A

assesses costs of programs and incomes from tax plans

71
Q

government accountability office

A

audits federal agencies and programs

72
Q

how many votes to end filibuster

A

60

73
Q

nuclear option

A

eliminated filibuster for lower federal court judgeships

74
Q

line item veto

A

taking out certain parts of a bill

75
Q

logrolling

A

if you support me on bill x i will support you on bill y

76
Q

oversight

A

congress is expected to oversee the activities of the executive branch in order to ensure funding is spent and laws are enforced properly

77
Q

sunset law

A

set expiration dates on laws

78
Q

what does the senate have to confirm

A

top level executive appointments , ambassadors, and federal judges

79
Q

impeachment

A

house acts as grand jury
the senate conducts the actual trial

80
Q

constituency

A

the residents in the area from which an official is elected

81
Q

descriptive representation

A

being similar to the constituents
can better represent their views

82
Q

substantive representation

A

representative is held accountable if he or she fails to represent that constituency properly

83
Q

incumbency

A

holding the political office for which one is running

84
Q

apportionment

A

the process, occurring after every decennial census, that allocates congressional seats among the 50 states

85
Q

conference (gathering)

A

gathering of house republicans every 2 years to elect their house leaders

86
Q

caucus ( gathering)

A

gathering of house democrats every 2 years to elect their house leaders

87
Q

majority leader

A

elected leader of the majority party in the house of representatives or in the senate

88
Q

minority leader

A

the elected leader of the minority party in the house or senate

89
Q

whip

A

a party member in the house or senate responsible for coordinating the party’s legislative strategy, building support for key issues, and counting votes