Congress Flashcards
(69 cards)
1
Q
What is the structure of Congress?
A
it is bicameral meaning it has two chambers - Senate and House
2
Q
Who does the House represent?
A
a sub-division of state called congressional district
3
Q
Who does the Senate represent?
A
an entire state
4
Q
Who makes up the House?
A
- 435 members
- members proportional to state populations
5
Q
Who makes up the Senate?
A
- 100 members
- two members per state
6
Q
What is the term for members of the House?
A
two
7
Q
What is the term for members of the Senate?
A
six
8
Q
What are some requirements needed to be a member of the Senate or House?
A
- at least 25 years old (House) / 30 years old (Senate)
- must have been a US citizen for at least seven years (House) / nine years (Senate)
- must be a resident of the state they represent
9
Q
Representation of women in Congress - 2023
A
27.9%
just over 1 in 4
10
Q
Representation of women in Congress - 2017
A
15%
11
Q
Representation of ethnic minorities in Congress - 2017
A
19%
12
Q
Representation of ethnic minorities in Congress - 2023
A
25%
most racially diverse to date
13
Q
What powers are given to Congress by the Constitution?
A
- legislate
- representation
- amend the constitution
- declare war
- impeachment
14
Q
Explain Congress’s power to legislate.
A
- both houses have equal power
- all bills must pass through all stages in both houses
15
Q
What is an implied congressional power of the constitution?
A
power of oversight - overseeing the executive branch, their departments and agencies, controls their budget
16
Q
What are the exclusive powers of the House?
A
- impeach the president
- elect the president if no candidate gets over 50% of electoral college votes
- all money bills start here
17
Q
What are exclusive powers of the Senate?
A
- try an impeachment case
- elect the vice president if no candidate gets over 50% of electoral college votes
- confirm executive appointments
- ratify treaties
18
Q
Explain the Senate’s exclusive power to confirm appointments.
A
- president’s appointments to federal judiciary and executive
- most important are to SC and to president’s cabinet
- simply majority required
- rarely rejected
19
Q
What second tier power does Congress have in terms of legislating?
A
power to overturn a presidential veto by a 2/3 majority in each chamber
20
Q
How many bills did Obama veto? How many were overridden?
A
12 and only one overridden
21
Q
What second tier power is exclusive to the Senate?
A
to ratify treaties - requires 2/3 majority
22
Q
Why is it usually suggested that the Senate is more powerful than the House?
A
- its exclusive power to confirm appointments
- its exclusive power to ratify treaties
23
Q
Why is it usually suggested that the Senate is more prestigious than the House?
A
- senators represent the entire state
- senators are one of only 100
- senators more likely to chair committees or sub committees
- senate is seen to be a recruiting pool for the presidency and vice presidency
24
Q
What are both houses equal in?
A
- passing legislation
- conducting oversight of the executive
- initiating constitutional amendments
- fulfilling a representative function
- level of salaries
25
What are the functions of Congress?
- representation
- legislative
- oversight
26
How does Congress fulfil its function of representation?
- congressional elections
- midterm elections
27
In what two ways can we look at representation in Congress?
1. how legislators represent their constituents
2. who the legislators are
28
What are the two models of representation?
1. trustee model
2. delegate model
29
Explain the trustee model.
- legislator makes decisions on behalf of constituents
- legislator will decide based on 'mature judgement'
30
What do critics say about the trustee model?
it is elitist
31
Explain the delegate model.
- legislator decides in accordance with the views of a majority of their constituents
- legislator does not exercise their own judgement
32
What do critics say about the delegate model?
- linked with the principle of popular sovereignty (where the views of the people are paramount)
- seen as more populist and democratic
33
How do members of Congress engage with constituents?
- holding party and town hall meetings
- e-mail / social media
- visits around states / districts
- taking part in interviews with local media
34
How is Congress effective at fulfilling its representative function?
- frequency of elections
- constitutional requirement that members of Congress must live in the state they represent
- the number of ways constituents can now share their views with members of Congress
35
How is Congress not effective at fulfilling its representative function?
- constituents views on many issues are very divided
- many members of Congress see themselves are more 'trustee' than 'delegate'
- today's era of hyper-partisanship often trumps constituency representation as the main cue in voting
36
What is incumbency?
the incumbent (current holder of political office, such as a politician in the House, Senate, Presidency) typically wins their seat again in the next election
37
What were the incumbency rates of 2016?
97% House 90% Senate
38
What is the significance of incumbency?
- closer connection between constituents and representatives
- representations need to be seen being active
- americans more critical of their representatives
39
What factors are responsible for high incumbency re-election rates?
- use of office
- safe seats and gerrymandering
- pork barrel legislation
- financial advantage
40
How does use of office affect incumbency?
representatives need to have a proven track record in order to gain public support and donations
41
How do safe seats affect incumbency?
- winner-takes-it-all system has allowed a huge number of safe seats
- a candidate usually wins so convincingly that they are expected to keep the seat at the next election
42
How does gerrymandering affect incumbency?
- lets a dominant party draw district boundaries in their favour at the expense of the opposition
- racial gerrymandering was common before civil rights era as many state boundaries are drawn up by the politicians elected at state level
43
What is pork barrel legislation?
when a member of Congress proposes an amendment to legislation that will bring benefits to a particular group
44
What is an 'earmark'?
an amendment added by a politician to add expenditure to a ball that benefits their constituency
45
How is earmarking often criticised?
- for promoting unnecessary spending and contributing to the budget deficit
- form of overrepresentation
- financial benefits are not spread evenly around the country or constituency
46
When was pork barrelling banned?
in 2010
47
Give a recent example of pork barrelling in use
in 2016 Congress passed legislation to spend $475 million on a new navy ship
supported by representatives Byrne and Ribble who represent districts with major shipbuilding companies
48
What financial advantage do incumbents have over challengers?
incumbents can attract more money than challengers
able to run more successful campaigns
49
What are the factors affecting voting behaviour within Congress?
- public opinion/constituency
- party/party leaders
- caucuses
- interest groups and professional lobbyists
50
When does party affect voting behaviour within Congress?
a party vote sometimes occurs in Congress when issues are contentious and ideological e.g. civil liberties, taxation, gun control, abortion or school prayers
51
How does party affect voting behaviour within Congress?
- because the US constitution tends to create weak parties due to separation of executive and legislature, party loyalties are a lot weaker
- members are elected through candidate centred campaigns and the influence of interest groups rather than the candidate's party
52
How has the influence of parties on voting in Congress changed in recent years?
become much more common due to increased partisanship
53
How do party leaders affect behaviour within Congress?
have limited use of patronage power with promises of committee chairmanships or membership to induce politicians to vote a certain way
54
Give an example of where the influence of party/party leaders saw a breakdown
- in the election of the speaker Kevin Mccarthy
- traditionally - when party wins majority on the House the majority of the House becomes speaker
- Kevin Mccarthy faced a rebellion - this is rare, found resistance amongst the freedom caucus, now the least powerful speaker because he has given so much away to the right wing republicans
55
How does public opinion affect voting behaviour in Congress?
- representatives must take into account public opinion or run the risk of being voted out of office
- representatives are subjected to frequent elections which provide public accountability due to the threat of removal
56
In which chamber is public opinion a more important factor of voting behaviour in Congress?
in the House because elections take place every two years compared to six years in the Senate
57
What principle of the US constitution ensures that public opinion is an important factor of voting behaviour in Congress?
separation of powers - means that there are strong levels of representation in both chambers creating an individual mandate for each politician
58
Rather than party label or party leader what are people more likely to vote on?
their individual policies
59
Give an example of the influence of public opinion/constituency on voting behaviour in Congress
2009 several Democrats switched their position dropping their support for Obama's Affordable Care Act after meetings with constituents and rising opposition to the bill
60
What is a caucus?
factions within congress
61
Give an example of a caucus based on ideology
conservative 'Blue Dog Democrats'
62
Give an example of a caucus based on social characteristics
congressional black caucus
63
Give an example of a caucus based on economic interests
Congressional Steel Caucus
64
How do caucuses affect voting behaviour in Congress?
caucuses often vote together on legislative issues
65
What was the most significant in the election of Kevin Mccarthy?
Freedom caucus
66
How do interest groups and lobbyists affect voting behaviour in Congress?
they can make direct contact with members as well as with their staff
67
What methods do interest groups and lobbyists use to affect voting behaviour in Congress?
they make visits, phone calls, provide evidence to committees, organise rallies, demonstrations and petition drives, engage in fundraising and campaigning
68
Give examples of the two most powerful interest groups
APAC - represent jewish interests, israel, cross party support
NRA - represent gun owners, almost exclusively republican support
69
What is a significant way in which interest groups will apply pressure to congressmen?
by publicising the voting records of individual congress members
