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Congress Flashcards

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1
Q

How did Congress come about ?

A

The New Jersey plan - supported by smaller states, wanted states to be represented equally

The Virgina plan - supported by larger states, wanted representation based on population size

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2
Q

What was the Connecticut compromise ?

A

An agreement to create a bicameral legislature that had proportional an equal representation.
- seats in the HoR allocated based on population
- in Senate, two seats per state, regardless of populatiomn

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3
Q

How was conflict between federalists and anti-federalists settled ?

A
  • House represent the ppl with direct elections every 2 yrs
  • Senate represent the state, with senates elected for 6 yrs
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4
Q

House

A
  • Lower House
  • 435 reps
  • One rep per district
  • 2 yr terms
  • all seats up for election every 2 yrs
  • 25+ yrs old
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5
Q

Senate

A
  • Upper House
    -100 senates
  • 6 yrs terms
  • 2 senators per state
  • 1/2 seats contested at each general election
  • 30+ yrs old
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6
Q

Roles of Congress

A
  • passing legislation
  • representing the people
  • overseeing the executive
  • declaring war
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7
Q

Who is the house greatly influenced by ?

A

Speaker of the House - which presides over the house, maintains order
The speaker is the leader of the majority party and votes go the majorities ways

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8
Q

Who sits in the house ?

A
  • speaker of the house
  • majority leader
  • minority leader
  • house majority/minority whips
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9
Q

Who sits in the senate ?

A
  • president of the senate (VP)
  • president ‘pro tempore’ for the time being
  • senate majority leader
  • senate minority leader
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10
Q

Committees in congress

A

Standing committee
Select committees
Joint committees
Conference committees
House Rules committees

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11
Q

What are concurrent powers ?

A

constitutional powers given to congress

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12
Q

Powers of Congress given by the constitution

A

Declaring war
Congressional oversight
Overriding a presidential veto
Impeachment and removal from office

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13
Q

Exclusive power shelf by the senate

A
  • Ratify treaties
  • To elect VP if no candidate has over 50% of the EC votes
  • Confirm presidential appointments
  • Impeach President
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14
Q

Exclusive powers of the House of Rep

A
  • To impeach the President
  • Initiating revenue raising bills
  • To elect the President is no candidate has over 50%
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15
Q

Concurrent powers shared by both Houses

A
  • To pass legislation
  • To override presidential veto with 1/2 majority in both houses
  • To declare war
  • Initiate constitutional amendments
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16
Q

Why is the Senate considered more prestigious and powerful ?

A

Though Congress is bicameral and both houses are said to be equal, in reality the Senate is considered more powerful

  • Congressmen & women often seek to be elected in the Senate but few seek t be elected to House
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17
Q

Why is the Senate more attractive to politicians than the house

A
  • Senators represent entire state & serve 6 yrs terms
  • Senate has exclusive powers including confirming presidential appointments to the SC
  • Only 100 Senators so easier to obtain leadership roles
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18
Q

Implied powers

A

Congress has powers to make laws necessary and proper for carrying out its foregoing powers

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19
Q

How does an impeachment take place ?

A

Firstly, the House ;
- the House Judiciary Committee investigates
- then drafts article of impeachment
- then simple majority vote to impeach

Then, the Senate ;
- senate holds a trial
- Senate vote (2/3 majority)

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20
Q

Presidents impeachment

A

Trump - twice
- abuse of power & obstruction of congress
- incitement of insurrection

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21
Q

What is a contingent election ?

A

When no president or VP candidate wins a majority of electoral votes (at leats 270 out of 538)

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22
Q

What does congress do if theres a contingent election ?

A

The House must choose one of the top three candidates, each states delegation casts one collective vote

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23
Q

Ratifying treaties

A

Power of the president by requires 2/3 of Senate approval

EG -

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24
Q

What is the congressional - executive agreement ?

A

An alternative way of ratifying treaties.
Congress passes a bill to authorise the president to negotiate a new deal, once finalised has to be passed to both chambers in congress

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25
Arguments for Congress’ power over appointments
- The Senates rejection of Presidents Reagan SC nominee, Robert Pork -Senates rejection of Merrick Garland appointed by Obama in 2016 exemplifies this power, demonstrating how Congress can prevent the apt of individuals deemed unfit or overly partisan
26
How long did it take for the Senate to confirm Trumps nominations compared to W Bush
64 days - W Bush 154 days - Donald Trump
27
What is filibustering ?
When senators purposely drag out debates to prevent a vote on a bill or nomination they opposed
28
What is a cloture rule ?
A rule used to end a filibuster with a supermajority, forces the senate to stop debating and proceed - 60 out of 100 senates must vote in favour to end the filibuster
29
What is the nuclear option ?
Normally 60 votes are needed to end a filibuster through cloture. The nuclear option allows Senate to change the rules so a simple majority (51 votes) are needed instead
30
When was the nuclear option used
In 2013, during Obama’s second term, Senate used the nuclear option to deal with constant Republican filibusters blocking Obama’s appointments
31
Stages to pass legislation in Congress
- Bill Introduction - Committee stage - Timetabling - Floor debate & vote on passage - Conference committee - Presidential committee
32
Bill introduction
Bills introduced by House is labelled HR (1) whilst in Senate, S (1) - Just a formality; not debate or vote - only members of Congress can introduce a bill but can be written by others
33
Committee Stage
The most important stage. conducted In the standing committee in both houses and the decide whether to release the bill to the main chamber. - most bills die here and don’t get released - could be assigned to subcommittees form further scrutiny
34
Timetabling
When the bill is released HoR - House rules committees timetables Senate - unanimous consent agreement decides for everyone and are bipartisan After this, it is then put up for debate
35
Floor debate and Vote
- If open rules, all members can propose amendment - Voted n through ‘aye’ / ‘no’ or on paper - Filibustering can take place in the Senate - Amendments can be made
36
What is the house rules committee sometimes called ?
The ‘traffic cop’ of the House - as it controls the flow of legislation through the House (decides what bills move forward or get stoped) - just like a traffic cop controls vehicles at an intersection
37
What are the requirements of amendments in the House ?
Amendments must be germane - closely related to the bill However, the Senate is more flexible and don’t have to be germane
38
Conference committee
Before bills are sent to the president, they must be passed by the House and Senate in the exact same form So if the 2 chambers amended the bill in different ways - these differences will need to be resolved - bills can ‘ping pong’ on the bill till both sides agree - can be resolved by a ‘conference committee’
39
Presidential Action
Once the bill has passed both houses in identical form - The President can sign the bill, veto it , or leave on desk However, Congress can override this veto with 2/3 majority and the bill becomes a law anyway
40
What are some issues that have gone unaddressed due to gridlock
- Immigration reform - Gun control - Healthcare reform
41
Has the leg process become too gridlocked ?
- Fewer bills passed - Unaddressed issues - filibustering bills
42
Has the leg process become too polarised
- Increased partisanship - Intra-party divisions - Delegation of power
43
Congress’s Power of the purse
Congress has the final say of how much each federal dpt and agency can spend - only Congress can raise revenue for federal govt
44
What are govt shutdowns ?
When Congress fails to pass necessary spending bill before a deal line - without legal authority to spend money, many federal agencies must close to limit operations
45
The longest govt shutdown
In 2018-2019, the longest shutdown in history which lasted 35 days long over Trumps border wall funding
46
What are the two types of representation ?
- Descriptive : descriptive characteristics of those elected - Substantive : how effective elected representatives advocate diverse interest
47
How descriptively representation is congress ?
- 118th Congress has 149 females - 118th Congress is the most racially & ethnically diverse - In 2023, Hakeem Jefferson’s became first black American to serve leader of any party
48
Voting behaviour that affects Congress’ legislative function
- Parties : aren’t unified - -
49
Standing committees
Permanent and each focuses on specific area of policy. - 20 House standing committees - 16 Senate standing committees They hold hearings during the committees stage of bills & carry out investigations / oversight on executive
50
Select committees
Temporary committee set up for specific issues. Addresses issues not handled by standing committees. They don’t work on legislation but focus on the issue in question.
51
House Select committee on Benghazi
Was set up to investigate the 2012 terrorist attack on the US embassy in Benghazi, where the ambassador was killed. Questioned former sec of state H.Clinton for 11hrs - it was argues to be aimed at damaging H.Clinton ahead of presidential election so politically motivated The investigation lasted 2yrs
52
House rules committee
A standing committee in the House. It sets rules for bills & determines how much time they will have on the floor and whether amendments will be allowed
53
Conference committee
Temporary committees set up to resolve differences between the House and Senates versions of the bill so its the same
54
Senate Intelligence Committee - example of oversight on exec
Investigated Russian interference in Trumps campaign in the 2016 US election. The investigation lasted 3 yrs with committees interviewing over 200 witnesses and producing a report 1k pages long
55
House Select Committee - Jan 6 capitol attack
Investigated Trumps actions during the Capitol insurrection. Accused trump of attempting to overture the election.
56
What are congressional caucuses ?
a group of members of congress who work together to achieve similar legislative aims. Most members of congress belong to different caucuses but all belong to one of the two party causes
57
What are the 4 main party caucuses
- House Republican Caucus - Senate Republican Caucus - House Democrat caucus - Senate Democrat Caucus
58
House Democrat Caucus
All democrats in the House Led by the House minority or Majority Leader - in 2023, the House Democratic leader is Hakeem Jeffries
59
House Republican Caucus
all Republicans in the House Also known as conference - In 2023, the House speaker was Mike Johnson
60
Senate Democratic Caucus
includes all democrat senators Led by Senate Majority/Minority leader - Chuck Schumer is the Senate Majority Leader
61
Majority and minority leaders
Act as floor leaders in both chambers. They plan the legislative agenda, they try and achieve party unity so party can achieve legislative aims.
62
The Speaker of the House
One of the most powerful figures in Congress. The speaker presides over debates and keeps order whole the House is in session - acts as leader of the majority party
63
Who is Nancy pelosi
The first female speaker in House from 2007 to 2011 and was reelected in 2019. The most important position held by a woman in Congress till Kamala Harris became VP in 2021

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