Congress

Question 1

What is the house of representatives?

Answer 1

• Represent popular democracy.
• Elected every 2 years, no limit to number of terms served (John Lewis was a member for 33 years for Georgia district 5).
• Speaker is elected by the house, always vote on the majority side (Kevin McCarthy).

Question 2

What is the senate?

Answer 2

• 100 senators, 2 from each state.
• Each serve 6 years, 1/3 elected every 2 years.

Question 3

What is the USA’s election cycle?

Answer 3

• FPTP
• Every seat of the house is up for election and 1/3 of the senate halfway through the presidency.
• These are known as midterm elections.

Question 4

What is the current make up of Congress under Biden?

Answer 4

House is democrat (224/213)
Senate is split 50/50

Question 5

What is incumbency?

Answer 5

the holding of an office (president, member of the senate or the house)

Question 6

How much did incumbents in senate raise on average in 2016?

Answer 6

$12.7mil

Question 7

What is gerrymandering?

Answer 7

• Shaping of congressional districts to give one party a political advantage.
• States hold the power to shape districts.

Question 8

What are trends in the house of representative makeup?

Answer 8

• The opposite party of the president tends to gain control in the midterm election, apart from Bush.
  e.g. Obama, Trump, Clinton

Question 9

What are the congressional powers of the House of Rep?

Answer 9

• Power of the purse (Obamacare needed money but the house couldn’t decide. Shut down for 28 days)
• Bring charges of impeachment (only used successfully twice)
• Choose president if electoral college is deadlocked (only used twice)

Question 10

What are the exclusive powers of the senate?

Answer 10

• Ratify treaties.
• Confirm judicial appointments.
• Try cases of impeachment.

Question 11

What’s a positive example of jerrymandering?

Answer 11

• Illinois district 4 created a Hispanic majority district in 2016.
• 2/3 were Hispanic

Question 12

What does subpoena mean?

Answer 12

a writ ordering a person to attend a court.

Question 13

What’s an example of a subpoena?

Answer 13

• The House January 6 select committee has formally transmitted a subpoena to Trump, compelling the former president to provide an accounting under oath about his potential foreknowledge of the Capitol attack and his broader efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Question 14

When was the last constitutional amendment added?

Answer 14

1992

Question 15

When was the last time congress declared war?

Answer 15

In 1942 on Romania

Question 16

During the 2022 cycle, what was the average price to run a senate seat?

Answer 16

$13.5 million