Congress Flashcards

Question

Importance of mid-term elections

Answer 1

Mid-term elections are often effectively a referendum on the first two years of a presidential term. The results can have a major impact on presidential power, as the president's party can lose a majority in either chamber, or in both, making it harder to pass legislation. There is a clear pattern: the president's party loses seats in mid-terms, with voters often trying to curtail presidential power. The presidential party has only ever gained seats in the House three times: under President Roosevelt in 1934, President Clinton in 1998 and President Bush in 2002. Update ?

Answer 2

The nature of these elections has changed hugely. In mid-term elections, each party runs a national campaign based around a common party platform, usually under the leadership of the House speaker and the House minority leader. There has been a tendency for congressional candidates to develop their own individual policy platform, but this has been eroded by an increase in nation-based agendas. This came to the fore in 1994 when Newt Gingrich successfully moved from minority leader to speaker, based on his 'Contract with America', a fiscally conservative package presented to voters, which President Clinton was forced largely to accept. More recently, Nancy Pelosi and the '100-hour agenda' in 2006 and John Boehner and 'The Pledge to America in 2010 gave a national mandate to the incoming speaker as their party took a House majority. This mandate allows speakers to become more powerful, often setting the legislative agenda as much as the president. However, this is only true when the president's party loses a mid-term and the opposing party takes control of one or more chambers.

Answer 3

notable feature of congressional elections is that the incumbent typically wins their seat again in the next election. In 2016 incumbency re-election rates were 97 per cent for the House and 90 per (ent for the Senate.

Answer 4

In the 2022 general election, an average of 94% of incumbents nationwide won their re-election bids.[

Answer 5

-Use of office -Safe seats and gerrymandering -Pork-barrel legislation -Financial advantage

Answer 6

Congresspersons and Senators can use their place in office to establish popularity and attract maior donors. A proven track record inspires trust among voters and donors

Answer 7

The winner-takes-all system has allowed a huge number of safe seats, where a candidate wins so convincingly that they are expected to keep the seat at the next election. An appropriate system of proportional representation would end this. However, this problem is made worse by gerrymandering - drawing electoral boundaries to favour a certain social group or party. This lets the dominant party draw district boundaries in their favour, at the expense of the opposition. Racial gerrymandering was common before the civil rights era as many state boundaries are drawn up by the politicians elected at state level. A new report found that only 10 percent of the House races in the 2022 midterm elections were competitive, noting that both Democrats and Republicans had a high number of “safe districts.” In June 2019, the United States Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in Lamone v. Benisek and Rucho v. Common Cause that federal courts lacked jurisdiction to hear challenges over partisan gerrymandering.[184]

Answer 8

This is when a member of Congress proposes an amendment to legislation that will bring benefits (especially financial ones, such as infrastructure projects or service provision) to a particular group. An amendment added by a politiclan to add expenditure to a bill that benefits their constituency is referred to as an 'earmark', which is often criticised for promoting unnecessary spending and contributing to the budget deficit. Even fiscal conservatives will engage in such proposals to improve their re-election chances.

Answer 9

Some see pork-barrelling as evidence of the highly representative nature of Congress; others see it as a form of over-representation, in which financial benefits are not spread evenly around the country or constituency. In 2010, Republican leaders placed a moratorium on earmarks in order to restrict pork-barrel legislation, but this did not stop the practice altogether.

Answer 10

In 2016, Congress passed legislation to spend $475 million on a new navy ship that the defense secretary and navy did not want, especially after a Pentagon report showing Its unreliability. The project was supported by Representatives Byrne from Alabama and Ribble of Wisconsin, who represent districts with major shipbuilding companies.

Answer 11

Financial advantage: Incumbents can attract more money than challengers, allowing them to run more successful campaigns. Challengers can struggle to gain name recognition and often find themselves under attack through well-funded negative adverts. Five most expensive senate races in 20222 saw 1.3 billion spent

Answer 12

House races 2021-22 saw 1.2 billion raised for incumbents and less than 400 million for challengers

Answer 13

High incumbency re-election rates can be seen as a threat to US democracy, suggesting an Ineffective level of representation. Some states tried to resolve this by creating term limits for their Congresspersons and Senators, but this was struck down by the Supreme Court. Term limits would end the stagnation of politicians in Congress, but they would only be attacking a symptom of incumbency. The major underlying causes, such as funding and gerrymandering, would remain along with significant concerns about how representative members of Congress were.

Answer 14

After Obama's election victory in 2008, a group of Republican tacticians developed a plan to increase their chances of winning congressional seats. They targeted Democrat states due to re draw their House-district boundaries, and concentrated resources to make sure Republicans could take control of the state legislature. After this, new Republican-held state legislatures changed constituency boundaries to maximise Republican success in House of Representative elections Political writer David Daley has shown how in various states, such as Pennsylvania, the Republican Party spent significant campaign finance to attack a small number of Democrat state politicians, giving the Republicans a majority that they used to change boundaries for that stale. The impact of changing just one state seat from Democrat to Republican was enormous. In 2008, Obama won Pennsylvania and 12 Democrat Congresspersons won seats from this state. In ZOlZ. Obama won again, but only rive Democrats won House elections because the constituency boundaries had changed. In 2012 - the first election using the new maps - Democratic congressional candidates received 100,000 more votes than Republicans, but Republicans won 13 of the 18 seats: 51 per cent of the vote translated into just 28 per cent of the seats. Democrats won by huge margins in just live areas, but more Republicans dominated House elections, with tew changes in overall voung patterns.

Answer 15

-Public opinion/constituency -Party/party leaders -Caucuses -Interest groups and professional lobbyists

Answer 16

Representatives must take into account public opinion or run the risk of being voted out of office. Congresspersons and Senators are subjected to frequent elections, which provide public accountability due to the threat of removal. It can be argued that this factor is more important in the House, as elections to the House take place every two years, compared to six years to the Senate. However, separation of powers means that there are strong levels of representation in both chambers, creating an individual mandate for each politician. People are likely to vote for a certain candidate due to their individual policies rather than because of their party label or party leader. Politicians in the House and the Senate are clearly more accountable to public opinion than their own president. E.g. The Sheboygan Press, a local Wisconsin newspaper, ran story about its congressman Tom Petri saying he only spent 95 days of the year in the state.

Answer 17

In 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. The New York Times stated that ten moderate Republicans opposed the Republican plan to repeal this act in March 2017. Some of these moderates represent districts which voted for Clinton in 2016.

Answer 18

By being members of a party, representatives are pressured to vote according to the majority party view. There is a sense of belonging to a party that encourages Politicians to vote together. Team competition - the desire to stop the opposing party - Contributes to higher unity. It is the sort of message that can be driven home during weekly Caucus meetings, where all members of a party in congress gather together, usually led by Senior members of the party. Party leaders also have limited use of patronage power with Promises of committee chairmanships or membership to induce politicians to vote a certain way.

Answer 19

No Republicans voted for Obama's stimulus budget in 2009, arguably due to partisanship rather than an ideological belief that the economy should self-stabilise and the government should not interfere. However, the fact that local opinion led 11 southern Democrats to vote against Obama's 2009 economic stimulus package suggests that public opinion has a greater impact on the way Congresspersons vote.

Answer 20

There are many factions within Congress, often called congressional caucuses. Some are based on ideology (such as the conservative Blue Dog Democrats). Other factions are based on social characteristics, such as the congressional black caucus, which has approximately 50 members. While it is dominated by Democrats, it is officially non-partisan: Mia Love, the first Republican black Congresswoman, is part of the group. Yet others are based on economic interests and are not set along party lines, such as the Congressional Steel Caucus containing approximately 100 members who mainly represent districts with steel manufacturers. These groups often vote together on legislative issues.

Answer 21

These groups can influence voting through means including donations, which may influence a Congressperson or Senator to vote for policies that favour that group. Some interest groups, such as the AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) and the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), also have large, active memberships, so members can mobilise to create the threat of removal of members from Congress. After the 2012 Newtown shootings, Obama was unsuccessful in passing legislation to limit guns, despite clear majority public support. Pressure from the National Rifle Association and the vocal (and sizeable) minority apparently carried more weight than public opinion. Politicians may also be strongly influenced by professional lobbyists and big businesses. Members of Congress, once they leave Capitol Hill, can command a much higher salary within such an organisation.

Answer 22

Presidents can dominate the political agenda, but leaders in the House or Senate - and individual members of Congress - regularly initiate policy. Congress may be more active in setting an agenda if the president's party has recently lost control of Congress in a mid-term election or if bipartisan control exists.

Answer 23

The separation of powers and the checks and balances, including the co-equal legislative power of the House and Senate, make compromise between parties or chambers necessary. Successful legislation will usually be a result of huge concessions and additions to3 bill. Legislation does not pass in a linear manner, travelling from president to House to Senate. A proposal may travel through both chambers at the same time, with the House and Senate then producing alternative versions of a law, which they then have to reconcile. This can be done through a conference committee In which members of both chambers try to come to an agreement.

Answer 24

-Initiation -Compromise -Weak parties and party leaders -Obstacles to success

Answer 25

Due to the separation of powers and federalism, parties tend to be weak, with many factions. Party leaders also have limited power over their own party, with Ineffective patronage and whipping - many Congress members are more interested In listening to the 'folks back home and prioritising the concerns of their own state or district over the national agenda. As a result, parties do not act as a single unit in passing legislation, making itdifficult to pass laws. The rise in partisanship can help the passage of legislation through Congress, but this Is of little use If the presidency is controlled by a different party or the House and Senate have split control (as in 2010-14). Here partisanship can cause high levels of gridlock, where president, House and Senate fail to agree and legislation cannot be passed. Also patronage weak as exec . And leg branches separated

Answer 26

-Senate and House roughly share power and have equal law-making powers. Each chamber may have different legislative priorities due to differing term lengths. There may also be differences in party majority, leading to major legislative conflict. -Legislation has to pass through several congressional committees, each of which can amend Or obstruct a bIll. Many committees are policy-based and will make decisions regarding the efficacy of a proposal. All bills requiring spending also have to pass through an appropriations committee, which determines whether there is sufficient funding. Separate committees cover the same or similar functions in each chamber. -Overriding a presidential veto requires a supermajority of two-thirds in both chambers.

Answer 27

a situation in US politics where the president and Congress are equally powerful and constantly prevent each other from acting, resulting in difficulty passing legislation.

Answer 28

groups of legislators who share special interests and meet to pursue common legislative objectives, such as black caucus, women's caucus, Hispanic caucus.

Answer 29

a Senator or Congressperson may request unanimous consent on the fioor co set aside a specified rule of procedure so as to expedite proceedings.

Answer 30

a process in which a Senator gives a prolonged speech on the floor of the Senate to obstruct legislative progress of a bill or confirmation of appointments to the executive or judiciary.

Answer 31

-House Rules Committee VS Unanimous Consent -Filibuster in Senate

Answer 32

Democrat Senator Chris Murphy took the unusual step of using a filibuster to force a vote, rather than to prevent one taking place. Murphy represents the state of Connecticut, where 26 children and teachers were shot and killed in Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, in December 2012. Senator Murphy began a filibuster that he said he would only end once the Senate agreed to vote on two key gun control measures. The first would expand background checks required for weapons purchases, and the second would allow the US to ban sales of guns and explosives to people listed on government watch-lists of suspected terrorists. Senate leaders eventually agreed to a vote, and Murphy halted his filibuster after 14 hours and 50 minutes. The amendment,to ban weapons sales to those on terrorist watch-lists failed with a vote of 47-53; just two Republicans supported the ban, and one Democrat opposed it. The background checks amendment was also rejected by 44-56, with one Republican Senator in support and three Democrats opposing.

Answer 33

In the House, bills go to a Rules Committee, which decides how long and under what rules the bill will be debated. The speaker of the House effectively controls this committee, so has great power over the legislative agenda of the House. The Rules Committee can determine a closed rule, where a bill can be discussed but no amendments can be offered. This is unusual, but can speed up passage of a bill. The Senate does not do this; all bills are fully debated.

Answer 34

The Senate is much less structured than the House, does not have a Rules Committee and gives unlimited debate time for a bill. The Senate also often uses a process called unanimous consent, where all Senators involved agree on a decision being made. A member of the Senate requests permission to proceed in a certain way on the Senate floor; if no one objects, the process can begin. Unanimous consent is used, among other things, to agree rules for debate on legislation, which can determine the time spent or waive certain points of order, such as the need for a full reading. Unanimous consent agreements are often negotiated ahead of a debate.

Answer 35

Another difference is the filibuster - a Senate rule that lets individual Senators insist on continuing to debate, to prevent a vote taking place. Filibusters can be used to stop or delay legislation or presidential appointments. The record for the longest filibuster belongs to Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Answer 36

In 2013, the Senate used the so-called 'nuclear option, voting 52-48 - with all Republicans and three Democrats voting against - to eliminate the use of the filibuster on executive branch nominees and judicial nominees other than to the Supreme Court. In 2017, the Republican-held Senate extended this, ending the use of the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations after Democrats filibustered Trump's nomination to the Supreme Court.

Answer 37

Sixty votes are now typically needed in the Senate to pass legislation. This is because a filibuster can be ended with a 3/5 vote in support of a motion known as a cloture. Their use, alongside the use of filibusters, has increased hugely in recent years. In 2010, the DREAM Act, having passed the House, failed to gain the 60 votes needed to overcome a Republican filibuster

Answer 38

-Checks and balances prevent tyranny, forcing compromise between different interests. In this sense the United States creates a pluralist democracy in which power is shared. -Quality policy comes from detailed consideration of bills and filters to remove undesirable aspects. This limits the danger of a bill being poorly thought through. -Individual and states' rights are protected, as Senators can insert amendments or filibuster on the basis of their equal state power and interests. And because all states equally represented in Senate.

Answer 39

-Inefficiency/low output results from the excessive need to compromise. Congress cannot act quickly and often fails to agree on legislation to address key needs. -High levels of partisanship mean parties are unwilling to compromise, leading to more gridlock. The Constitution requires compromise for laws to be passed. -Poor-quality legislation can come from too much compromise. A bill may lack coherence due to many amendments and interests. Prevalent pork-barrelling can create financially wasteful policy not based on rational decisions. -Sceutiny depends on who controls -Disproportionate states’ interests -Partisanship often for sake of it

Answer 40

Congress is clearly able to have a huge impact on the United States through major legislation that has brought about major social change, determines the spending priorities of the federal government and determines the nature and extent of individual liberty. The section above on the strengths and weaknesses can be used to judge the effectiveness of laws passed. In addition, any assessment of the effectiveness of laws passed will clearly be affected by ideological judgements. In other words, liberals and conservatives will disagree over the ellectiveness of laws that are passed. rurtnermore, conservatives may support the current complex legislative process because it makes it difficult to bring about change and can be used to stop the federal government from imposing new requirements on US citizens and the states. Many acts of Congress restrict states' ability to control their own affairs, causing conflict between federal and state government. It has often been conservatives who have objected to federal laws - such as the Voting Rights Act or the Affordable Care Act - because they undermine federalism. On the other hand, liberals may prefer a more efficient process in order to increase their chances of developing socially progressive legislation. Much depends on the nature of party control, however. Democrats who want the president to have greater power to make policy, arguing that the filibuster has been misused by the Senate during the Obama presidency, might be the same Democrats who strongly support the use of the filibuster to prevent the more conservative elements of President Trump's legislative agenda from coming to fruition.

Answer 41

-American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 -Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 2010 -The Freedom Act 2015

Answer 42

-DREAM Act -Gun Regulations -Budget Shutdown 2013

Answer 43

•Gave the economy a $787 bn injection to protect jobs and stimulate the economy. •Covered infrastructure, aid to low-paid workers, education and tax breaks. •Effectiveness strongly disputed; Congress vote split almost entirely on party lines.

Answer 44

• Advocated by Obama in 2008 and 2012 election campaigns. • Aimed at allowing all illegal immigrants who arrived in the US before 18th birthday to have a right to remain. • Filibustered in Senate, with Obama using temporary executive orders to achieve some of his policy goals.

Answer 45

• Requires almost all Americans to have health insurance, with provisions for those on low/no income. • Requires insurance companies to insure those with pre-existing conditions. • Support in Congress based mainly on party affiliation.

Answer 46

• Proposed in various forms by president and Congress. •Legislation developed by Vice President Biden, after Sandy Hook Newtown shootings, was defeated in the Senate. •This would have banned some assault rifles, limited the size of magazines and increased the use of background checks.

Answer 47

• Created after Edward Snowden revealed how the Patriot Act was being used to monitor US citizens. •Reauthorised many provisions of the controversial Patriot Act (2001) until 2019, including giving the government powers to collect bulk communications data via surveillance (gathering data but not contents of calls/emails). •Continued the suspension of 'probable cause to suspect that someone is involved in terrorism before a search takes place. • Led to a major dispute between House and Senate in which Mitch McConnell held out for full re-authorisation of the Patriot Act.

Answer 48

• Legislative gridlock due to lack of agreement on Continuing Appropriations Resolution (to settle key budget policies). •Disagreement centred on spending levels, budget deficit and the Affordable Care Act which the House insisted on defunding. •Lasted 16 days at an estimated cost of $24 bn. Over a million federal employees worked without knowing their pay dates; many others were told not to go to work. • Inability of president and Congress to agree on annual budget plagued Obama's presidency.

Answer 49

-The president can veto legislation passed by Congress Obama veto of Affordable Care Act Repeal 2016 -Partisanship has decreased the will of parties to compromise, making it harder to create laws. Democrats and Republicans could not agree on a budget in 2013 despite terrible consequences of budget shutdown -Congress is internally divided and may be unable to make a new law, especially with divisions between House and Senate 2013 Senate passed immigration reform which was not taken up by the House -The Supreme Court can overturn acts of Congress using judicial review Shelby County v Holder 2013 overturned key sections of the Voting Rights Act

Answer 50

-Vote against laws initiated/supported by president -Amend laws initiated/supported by president -Determine funding for Presidential projects -Proposing legislation

Answer 51

In March 2017 Trump was frustrated by his inability to pass the American Health Care Act despite having a Republican majority in both chambers. DREAM Act

Answer 52

Obama was restricted by amendments to budget policies, which he was forced to accept. congress also passed amendments to National Defense Authorization Acts, both limiting presidential power Obama had to eive 30 days notice to relevant congressional committees before moving anvone from Guantanamo) and giving him powers he did not want Obama said he would never use the power given to him to order the killing by drone strike on United States citizens within the United States territory suspected of terrorism

Answer 53

By failing to allocate funding, Congress can restrict or cancel a policy from being put into practice. In 1995 Congress withdrew funding for US military involvement in Bosnia, forcing President Clinton to withdraw troops. Coneress has repeatedly attempted to defund many of Obama's domestic policy priorities. +Vietnam War?

Answer 54

Actively developing their own congressional agenda will contrast or strongly conflict with the goals of the president. The policy platforms developed by Speakers Pelosi, Boehner and Ryan all provide evidence of a president being limited by the agenda of Coneress.

Answer 55

-DECLARE WAR: In theory this power is given to Congress, thus limiting the president's ability to initiate military action. Most presidents have requested permission for military action, such as George W. Bush seeking approval for the Iraq War in 2003. -RATIFICATION OF TREATIES: The president is not free to enter into agreements with other countries without seeking approval from the Senate by a two-thirds vote. In 2014 the Senate blocked a United Nations disability treaty, which Obama had pushed for

Answer 56

-Overturn a Presidential veto: Using a two-thirds vote Coneress can stop the president from overriding its legislative goals. Obama issued his 12th veto against the Justice Against sponsors of Terrorism Act in 2016. a bill which would allow families of victims of 9/11 to sue the saudi Arabian government for an involvement they mav have had. This was easily overturned ST-to-in the Senate and 348-to-77 in the House. -Ratify appointments: Critical to the president achieving their policy goals is their ability to appoint their favoured people to executive and judicial positions. The failure of the Senate to vote on Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to the supreme Court in 2016 allowed President trump to nominate justice Gorsuch and influence the ideological balance of the court.

Answer 57

Impeachment and removal of members of executive branch: The House can impeach a member of the executive branch and the Senate can then hold a trial in order to decide whether or not to remove them. While President Clinton was impeached in 1999, he was not removed from office.

Answer 58

As well as congressional checks, which are created by the Constitution, a major part of the oversight process comes from the committees created by Congress. Most committees are policy-based and conduct oversight based on their policy expertise. Typically they investigate a department and hold hearings for executive members.

Answer 59

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has the sole role of scrutinising the executive.

Answer 60

In the years before the 2016 election, Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz used the committee to investigate Hillary Clinton's use of a private email account for her work as secretary of state.

Answer 61

Congress can create temporary committees to provide oversight if an event of concern arises. Congress created the House Select Committee on Benghazi in 2014, after the US ambassador to Libya was killed there.

Answer 62

By using executive orders directing the executive branch to carry out a policy in a certain way, the president can effectively create new policies without passing legislation through Congress. Congress has criticised President Obama for his many executive orders on gun control, immigration and federal pay. President Trump was criticised for the high number of executive orders he issued in his first weeks in office, making it difficult for Congress to examine the implications of each one.

Answer 63

In 2017 Devin Nunes, chair of the House Intelligence committee charged with investigating alleged Russian involvement in the US elections, was criticised for his lack of independence from Trump. Nunes travelled to the White House to view security documents rather than having these documents open to scrutiny by the whole committee. He drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans with Senator John McCain saying, 'You've got to have a bipartisan approach to an issue such as this if you want to be credible.' Congress is supposed to act as a watchdog on the executive branch, but can go from attack dog to lap dog, depending on which party is in control.

Answer 64

-Does the president hold a majority in both congressional chambers? -Who has the stronger or more recent mandate: Congress or the President? -Are president and Congress working on domestic or foreign policy? -Does the president have effective leadership and persuasion skills? -How popular is the president, Congress or a specific policy with the general public?

Answer 65

-Overturn decisions through amendments -Ratifying justice nominations -Impeachment and removal of justices -Determine total number of justices

Answer 66

The ultimate power Congress holds over the Supreme Court is to overturn a decision. Using an amendment to the Constitution, Congress can reverse or amend a Court ruling. When Congress and the states lowered the voting age to 18 in the 26th amendment of 1971, it effectively overturned the Oregon v Mitchell 1970 ruling, which allowed states to retain the age of 21 as the voting age for state elections if they wished to. However, this restriction on the Court is limited by the difficulty of amending the Constitution. The vast majority of Supreme Court rulings are not subject to an amendment effort; those that are, usually fail.

Answer 67

The other key aspect of the relationship between Congress and the Supreme Court is the Senate's role in ratitying presidential nominations. This is a contentious area, but the senate cannot check the Court as a whole, nor does it have control over a justice. The Senate's role is limited to conducting hearings and then voting on a nominee. Once that person becomes a justice, there is no threat of removal from the Senate. And now no ability to filibuster

Answer 68

Individual justices can be impeached and removed by Congress. The last such attempt to remove a justice was in 1804, when Justice Samuel Chase was impeached by the House but acquitted by the senate.

Answer 69

The Constitution gives Congress the authority to determine the total number of justices on the Court. The number has been settled at nine since the Civil War. Congress could increase this number to allow a president to appoint new members of the court and establish a majority, but this has neither been used nor threatened since the Roosevelt presidency.

Answer 70

The Republican Party was criticised for excessive partisanship during the Obama presidency, witn some politicians seeming to oppose any policy supported by Obama. For cxample, the then-House Budeet Committee Chair Tom Price refused to begin committee Consideration of Obama's final $4 trillion budget proposal.

Answer 71

91st Congress, 1969-70 Democrats 70.9 Republicans 72.1 At the same time, the Senate set a new high of 83.1 percent, with the parties divided on 350 of 421 votes last year. 2022 Only one Dem voted w party less than 90% of times on divided votes

Answer 72

91st Congress, 1969-70 Democrats -0.273 Republicans 0.234

Answer 73

Voting between parties has become more divergent than at any other period since the Second World War. In addition, the political middle has disappeared, with declines in moderate conservatives and Blue Dog Democrats, who represent a crossover between the two parties. Blue dogs have gone from 54 in HOR in 2009 to 10 now

Answer 74

Democrat and Republican Senators worked together after the 2012 election in the 'Gang of 8' to pass immigration reform (which was blocked by the House). Democrats and Republicans have eventually arrived at compromise measures allowing budgets to be passed, and the two sides have even agreed on the removal of Senate filibusters for judicial nominations - a move Democrats may now regret given the election of Donald Trump in 2016. In some cases there has been significant cross-party agreement. In 2016 there was a convincing vote to overturn Obama's Saudi Arabia legislation veto. This upheld Congress's original law to allow families of the victims of 9/11 to sue the Saudi Arabian government. In addition, the existence of caucuses, within or between parties, reveals that a party is not fully united.

Answer 75

-Gridlock -Ability to check president

Answer 76

Only 34 bills passed in 2023

Answer 77

Those fearing over-powerful leadership may see this as a healthy sign that government cannot enforce too many policies on the people. This perhaps reflects the vision of the Founding Fathers Icreating constitutional procedures to ensure limited government. On the other hand, it could be wen as a failure of Congress to address the specific needs of the nation. Gridlock between parties nthe executive and legislature, over the budget and health care, led to the financially disastrous budget shutdown of 2013.

Answer 78

Democrats and Republicans were unable to agree on federal funding to tackle the growing Zika virus crisis in the United States. When the virus affected people in Florida, Democrats and Republicans argued about levels of spending to tackle the problem. Obama requested $1.9 billion in Zika funding, but the Republican-led Congress wanted to cut this to $1.1 billion, with Senate Democrats stopping the bill because they argued it was insufficient to deal with the outbreak. As a result, no agreement was leached. Obama blamed the Republican Party for the impasse, and Democrat Senators called on the Republican Senate Majority leader to cut short a recess so that they could attempt to resolve their differences. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan accused Obama of partisanship: We need the White House and Senate Democrats to drop politics and put the public's health first?

Answer 79

The increase in partisanship has had a major impact on presidential power. Under divided government the president might fail to provide significant leadership; Congress could obstruct a president's policy initiatives, adopting an aggressive oversight role. This characterised presidential congressional relations between Obama and the Republican-led Congress (2011-16) and Bush and the Democrat-led Congress (2007-08), and reduced presidential power significantly.

Answer 80

On the other hand, if there is unified government with one party holding the presidency, House and Senate, partisanship may lead to a major increase in the power of the presidency. Driven more by party loyalty, Congressional politicians may overlook oversight and fail to provide significant checks on the executive. Congress was accused of 'forgetting' to provide oversight of the Bush administration when the president held a Republican majority between 2003 and 2008, despite controversies over the Iraq War, the Patriot Act and the creation of the Guantanamo detention camp.

Answer 81

• Weak leadership due to limited patronage power of leaders means individuals do not always vote win their party • Constituency opinion has stronger influence than party • Members of Congress may be strongly allied to an interest group or congressional caucus or faction

Answer 82

• Leaders in Congress have become more powerful, with nationalisation of mid-terms and speaker's increased power • Increased partisanship has led to high levels of party unity

Answer 83

The 16th amendment (1913) gave Congress the power to levy federal income tax, marking a major increase in the power of federal government in general. The move to directly elected Senators with the 17th amendment (1913) increased the legitimacy of the Senate and allowed it to increase its power relative to the House.

Answer 84

-Rise in importance of foreign and military policy -The nationalisation of mid-term elections -Partisanship

Answer 85

. The rise in importance of foreign and military policy has arguably undermined congressional power as international affairs became increasingly controlled by the presidency. As military action became faster, more complex and more deadly, the president, surrounded by superior executive resources, has been able to exert greater control over military policy. Congress has attempted to exert authority with the War Powers Act of 1973.

Answer 86

• The nationalisation of mid-term elections has centralised greater power in the hands of the House speaker. Under divided government this has allowed the speaker to act as a significant rival to the president, suggesting an increase in the collective power of Congress.

Answer 87

• Partisanship has created greater extremes in Congress's reaction to the presidency and the extent to which they have attempted to restrict the executive branch. Under divided government, partisanship has arguably strengthened the power of Congress as it becomes more determined to challenge presidential power

Answer 88

There are also many short-term changes, where the power of Congress is constantly in flux, with frequent elections changing the party majority in each chamber, as well as changing the party in control of the executive. It is tempting to see an election result that produces divided government as one that creates a more powerful Congress. Certainly, Congress tends to become more assertive in these situations and will often vote against presidential proposals or apply intense scrutiny. On the other hand, if president and Congress are from the same party, Congress will be able to achieve more of its policy goals.

Answer 89

-SEPARATE ELECTIONS FOR PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS: The separation of powers arguably provides the most significant contribution to high levels of ingressional representation, Unlike parliamentary systems, it allows voters to have separate elections for the executive and the legislature. This maximises, voter choice and allows the electorate to select a member of Congress according to their ability to respond to the wishes and interests of the constituency. The lack of executive influence over members of Congress ensures accountability to the public, not the president. One of the most moderate Republican Senators, Susan Collins of Maine, represents a moderate constituency and often votes against her own party. The prevalence of split-ticket voting - in which a voter selects two (or more) different parties in the same election - suggests that Americans value this opportunity to vote according to the specific views and policies of the politician, not simply for a broad party platform -TWO ELECTED CHAMBERS - COMPLEMENTARY REPRESENTATION: As both chambers are elected, voters have two choices rather than one, with the benefit of alternative or complementary representation. By providing both delegates (Congresspersons on two-year terms) and trustees (Senators on six-year terms), Congress can maximise representative levels in a way that alternative systems with two chambers, both elected every four years, cannot. Owing to the different term lengths, Congresspersons and Senators normally react to legislation differently. By staying in power longer, the Senate arguably makes decisions based on rationality by considering long-term effects; the two-year term forces Congresspersons to issue policies rapidly and emotionally, to respond to public opinion. Taking different types of representation Into account conoress is an erredrive representative boov. This can bs seen in the response it the demand for a flag protection amendment, in which the House regularly voted to support this populist measure, whereas it failed to reach the required votes to change the Constitution in the Senate. -FREQUENT ELECTIONS AND SHORT HOUSE TERMS: Congressional elections take place every two years, causing Congress to be a highly representative body - changes in public attitudes can be quickly reflected through the composition of the Congress. In the 2014 mid-term elections, the unpopular Democrats lost control of the Senate, allowing Republicans to take control. If all Senators were elected in, say, 2012, the majority in the Senate would not have been open to change until 2018. As the House is elected every two years, Republican Congresspersons have to keep responding to public opinion; otherwise, they can easily be removed at the next election. The high level of sensitivity to public opinion directly pushes Congresspersons to be highly representative of constituency views, and a strong level of accountability means that public opinion is reflected in the House. Plus now more diversity, interest groups STATES’ RIGHTS

Answer 90

-FPTP AND GERRYMANDERING: The first-past-the-post voting system and gerrymandering heavily undermine the representative nature of Congress, to the point where some might argue that it has unacceptably low levels of responsiveness to the wishes and interests of the public. The determination of parties and politicians to maximise their power has led to a major distortion of public opinion, in which power in Congress does not reflect the wishes of the people. -SOCIAL REPRESENTATION: Even if Congress is elected frequently and separately from presidential election, the composition of Congress still does not reflect the make-up of society, particularly in terms of race and gender. Congress does not look like the United States. There is a debate about the extent to which this matters. Conservatives emphasise the idea that white people can represent Hispanics and vice versa, and that minority representation has grown rapidly. The 115th Congress starting in 2017 is the most racially diverse ever. Liberals, on the other hand, point to the under-representation of minority groups, especially in the Senate. In 2017 non-whites make up 38 per cent of the population but 19 per cent of Congress. This figure is onl 10 per cent in the Senate. In 2017 the number of women in the House fell slightly but increased in the Senate. White people may not fully understand the wishes and interests of other racial groups, so that they might not be able to directly respond to their constituents. The liberal argument suggests that, without intentional bias, there is still an over-representation of white, male, wealthy interests, limiting the US's claim to be a pluralist, representative democracy. -INFLUENCE OF PRESSURE GROUPS: Congress is influenced by pressure groups in a manner that arguably distorts the wishes of the public. In some cases, politicians respond to the interests of unelected pressure groups, which then gain disproportionate representation in Congress. The significance of money means that richer ressure groups dominate, gaining over-representation of their wishes and interests at the expense others. Elite theory suggests that Congress is not at all democratic because it responds only to the wishes of a small group in society.

Answer 91

FEC vs citizens United Control of Trump over Party and candidates Diversity

Answer 92

118th Congress (2023-25): 28% women but 51% pop 11% African American but 14% pop 10% Hispanic compared to 19% pop 6% Jewish compared to 2% pop 108th Congress 14% women 7% African American

Answer 93

More pluralist, especially as few independents

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