Congress Flashcards
(138 cards)
1
Q
what did the Gallop poll in 2016 reveal about attitudes toward congress
A
13% approve of job
83% don’t
2
Q
how many members in the house of representatives
A
435
3
Q
how many members in the senate
A
100
4
Q
how is the number of representatives per state decided
A
proportional to population
5
Q
why is it hard to increase the number of women in congress
A
under represented in pool of recruitment (state legislator)
2017 24.8% state legislators were women
6
Q
congressional districts
A
geographic subdivision of a state represented by a member of the house
(equivalent of uk constituency)
7
Q
how many women were elected to the house in 2016
A
83
62 democrats
21 republicans
8
Q
in how many states do women make up less than 20% of the state legislator
A
16
9
Q
how many states do women make up more than 30% of the state legislator
A
13
10
Q
in 2015 how many states had african americans making uo more than 10% of the legislator
A
15
11
Q
which state has the highest % of african american legislators
A
Mississippi
28%
12
Q
which four states in 2017 were represented by in the senate by hispanic americans
A
texas, nevada, florida and new jersey
all these states have a hispanic-american population above 16.3% (national average)`
13
Q
in 2015-16 what % of people in both houses has previously served as politicians
A
60%
14
Q
in 2015-16 what % of people in both houses has previously had a career in business or banking
A
53% house
42% senate
15
Q
congress and religion
A
congress is more christian than the nation
16
Q
catholics in conngress
A
33% house
24% senate
21% population is catholic
17
Q
which religions are over represented in congress
A
Jews in both chambers
Mormons in senate
18
Q
how long have the two parties controlled the house
A
1993-2017
14 years democrat
10 years republican
19
Q
how long have the two parties controlled the senate
A
1993-2017
- 5 years democrat
- 5 years republican
20
Q
what are the ten powers of congress
A
law making investigation overriding presidents veto confirming appointments ratifying treaties initiating constitutional amendments impeaching public officials confirming appointed vice president declaring war electing pres+VP if electoral college deadlock
21
Q
what is the special law making power the constitution grants
A
only the house can consider money bills (bills raising revenue(tax))
22
Q
why does the house have the special law making power
A
house used to be only directed elected chamber
founding fathers thought people’s directly elected reps should have the say over peoples money
23
Q
where does it say in the constitution that congress has oversight
A
doesn’t
implied by powers granted in article 1 section
e.g congress establishes+votes on budgets of all executive departments
24
Q
how many of Obama’s vetoes did congress override
A
1
25
which appointments does the senate confirm
supreme court
some to the executive branch
e.g Justic John Paul Stevens retired 2010, Obama's nomination of Elena Kagan confirmed 63-37
26
relating to confirming appointments, what does the senate also do
give consent to replace appointments
e.g 2010 Hillary Clinton MinOfDefence resigned
replaced by John Kerry
Obama had to get consent 94-3
27
which chamber has the 'sole power of impeachment'
house
28
which chamber has the 'sole power to try all impeachments'
senate
29
can congress members be impeached
no
| can be expelled for 'disorderly behaviour'
30
example of congress confirming a vice president appointment
```
only happened twice
1973 VP spiro agnew resigned
Nixon replaced him wi Gerald Ford
senate confirm (92-3)
house confirm, (387-35)
```
31
how many times has congress declared war
5 times
| most recent 1941 WW2 on japan
32
who did representative represent
people in a district
33
who do senators represent
the whole state
34
what powers does the senate have but not the house
confirming appointments
| ratifying treaties
35
what power the does the house have but not the house
money bills
36
what can the senate be seen as
recruitment pool for VP
37
the senate is more prestigious than the house (YES)
```
senators represent a state
serve longer temrs
1 of 100
more likely to chair a committee
house members seek senate election
```
38
people who have used senate as a launching pad to president
Obama
Nixon
Truman
39
the senate is more prestigious than the house (NO)
equal power in passing legislation
equal salaries
both approve initiation of amendments
40
standing committee
permanent, policy specialist committee of congress
| key role in legislation+investigation
41
house of rules committee
timetable legislation in the house
42
conference committees
reconciling difference in legislation
43
select committees
special investigative committees
44
what are the four types of committees
standing committee
house of rules committee
conference committees
select committees
45
where do standing committee exist
both houses
senate one made up of roughly 18
house 30-40
party balance in the committee is in balance with balance in chamber
46
where do members seek assignments
on committees that are closest to interest of state/district
e.g North Dakota's senator+House are members of senate agriculture committee
47
what are the names of some of the more prestigious committees
Judiciary, Armed Services + Appropriations
48
example of a committee with sub committees
House Transportation and Infrastructure
| aviation, Water Resources and Environment
49
what are the functions of standing committees
conducting committee stage of bills
conducting investigations
confirming presidential appointments (senate only)
50
conducting committee stage of bills
hold hearing on a bill wi witnesses (congress members, people from interest groups)
after hearing vote taken on whether to pass bill onto full chamber for debate
51
conducting investigations
investigate perceived problems/ policy failures e.g 'Is new legislation required?'
52
confirming presidential appointments
two committees involved
senate's judiciary
foreign relation committee
53
what does the senate's judiciary committee do in confirming presidential appointments
hold hearings on all federal judicial appointments by president
54
what does the foreign relation committee do
hold hearings on all ambassadorial appointments
55
what happens on the committees when confirming an appointment made by president
hearings from supporters+critics of the nominee
| vote is taken but no decisive
56
example of Trump's nomination only just being voted in (if its close, likely the nominee will face difficulty in future)
Betsy DeVos for secretary of Education
committee vote= 12-11
senate floor= 51-50
57
example of a nomination from the president not being confirmed
John Tower secretary of defense
George H.W Bush
committee vote=9-11
senate floor=47-53
58
example to discredit power of committees
'committees are powerful but not all powerful: they cannot legislate'
59
why is the house rules committee so important
huge queue of bills waiting to be considered
| needs to be organised
60
examples of rules set by the house rules committee
open rules-permit unlimited ammendments
modified- limit no. of amendments
close-no amendments
61
membership of house of rules committee
smaller
2017 it had 13 members
chair of house of rules seen as most influential position in congress
62
why are conference committees required
- both house have legislative power
| - bills pass through concurrently (at the same time)
63
what is the impact of a bill being passed through congress concurrently
two different versions
| if can't be reconciled informally, has to be done through committee
64
what happens after the conference committee has agreed to one version of the bill
vote on floor of each house
if no agreement goes back to conference committee
if no agreement there, goes to standing
65
why are select committees needed when standing committee have an investigative power
- if it doesn't fall into a policy area of a standing committee
- likely to be time consuming
66
example of a select committee
2014 committee set up around events surrounding 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi
67
seniority rule
the chair of committee is member of majority party with longest serving on that committee
68
how have republicans amended the seniority rule
term limits for chairs
| three term limit=6 years
69
powers of those who chair standing committees
control agenda
control budget
report legislation to the floor
influence membership
70
what are the six stages of the legislative process in congress
```
intro
committee stage
timetabling
floor debate+vote
conference committee (optional)
presidential action
```
71
introduction (legislative process)
read title on senate floor
| printed out handed round+sent to committees
72
on average what % of bills get turned into law
2-4%
73
how many bills are typically introduced in one congress
10,000-14,000
74
how many bills were introduced in 2015-16
12,063
| 328 laws enacted
75
which congress was the least productive in terms of legislation in recent times
112th (2011-12)
| 284/12,299 bills becoming law
76
at what stage do most bills fail
committee stage
| many aren't even heard or voted on
77
why is the committee stage of the legislation process so important
they can take things out and add to the bill
| choosing what chambers debate on
78
what does the report written by the committees do? (legislative process)
states main aims
review amendments made by committee
estimate costs
recommends action chamber should make
79
timetabling
senate uses unanimous consent agreement
| house goes through house rules committee
80
unanimous consent agreement
agreement between senate majority+minority leaders on the order bills we debated
81
what is a discharge petition
if committee can't give a rule to a bill
petition signed
218 signature discharged straight to house floor for debate
82
what is filibuster (can't be done about supreme court nominations)
senators can exercise right of unlimited debate to delay bill
83
example of a filibuster
2013 Ted Cruz
spoke non stop 21 hours on affordable care act
2016 Ben Sasse Nebraska+others
15 hours tighter gun control leg following mass shooting at night club
84
how can a filibuster be ended
cloture
needs 16 senator signatures
voted for by 3/5 senate
85
which congress filed the most cloture motions
2013-14
86
some difference betweeen the legislative process in House and Senate
2 vs 6 yr term- more urgency in house
house-tied vote=bill defeated
senate-tied=goes to VP
house members more specialist only have one major committee assignment
87
how has the decline in conference committees increased partisanship
repubs used ad hoc leadership driven approach
created a ping pong between chambers
which reduced input from minority party members
88
what four things can a president do when presented with a bill
sign it into law
leave on desk
regular veto
pocket veto
89
example of a president signing a bill into law
March 2010 Obama Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
90
what does it mean if the president 'leaves the bill on his desk'
bills he has no position on
| wants to veto but knows itd be overidden
91
regular veto
president uses as a bargaining tool
| pressures congress to change
92
how do congress override the presidents veto
2/3 majority in both houses
93
how many vetoes did Bush have defeated
4 out of 11
94
pocket veto
if bill is awaiting presidents action when legislative session ends, it is lost
95
give an example of pocket veto
president clinton
| Consumer Bankruptcy and Overhaul bill
96
why is it hard to pass bills through congress
crowded-lots of bills
complicated process
super majority at some stages
both houses have equal power
97
what did Professor R.V Denenburg say about congress
Bastion of negation
98
what has happened to the number of open ruled bills
decreased
| easy to get bad leg through as not debated
99
when is congressional oversite effective
congress is not controlled by presidents party
| e.g republican senate 1999 rejected Bush's nomination of Ronnie White+his test ban treaty
100
how did republican senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina describe democrats oversight of of George W Bush in 2007
politically posturing
| hasn't really changed anything
101
even if oversight isn't fully effective what does it do
keeps people on their toes
| get complacent if not there
102
three functions of congress
legislation
oversight
representation
103
why is representation in congress important
upholds democratic values+fairness
| women more likely to raise issues on civil rights,education+workplace
104
delegate model of representation
legislators follow what the constituents prefer
105
trustee model
follow own judgement
106
why would house members be more likely to want to represent their constituents views
re-election every two years
| want to be re-elected
107
what do house and senate members do when they go back to their constituency
town hall meetings
visits around state/district
interviews wi media
108
how do congress members fill their representative function
vote on leg in floor chamber
member of standing committee which is of interest to their constituents
get projects, to benefit their st/di
109
pork barrel
funds for projects in a member of congress' state or district
peak 2006
tailed off recently
110
is congress effective in the resemblance model
no
111
how many votes were there in congress in 2016
house-622
| senate-163
112
what factors affect voting in congress
```
constituents
party
admin
pressure groups
collegues+staff
personal beliefs
```
113
party unity vote (factors affecting voting in congress)
vote in house of senate where majority of one party votes against majority of other
114
give an example of a party unity vote (factors affecting voting in congress)
Federal Information Systems Safeguard Act (2016)
all but 2 republicans voted yet
4 democrats no
115
how many party unity votes were there in 2010 in the senate (aka party votes)
78.6%
116
how many party unity votes were there in 2012 in the house (aka party votes)
75.8%
| shows increase partinsanship
117
what does administration mean
members of the executive branch
118
how does the administration affect the way congress members vote
meetings+calls to persuade them to vote in certain way
admin members need to be able to do favours in return
needs to be done with members of both parties (bipartisan coalition)
119
how do pressure groups affect the way congress members vote
direct contact with members
provide evidence
areas wi high pressure group activity=abortion,gun control+healthcare
120
how to colleagues and staff affect the way congress members vote
too many votes to know all the details, rely on others to help them
new members ask senior
people from same committee/philosophy
121
how do personal beliefs affect the way congress members vote
some touch more wi personally philosophy
| e.g abortion
122
how is the leader of each party elected in the house+senate
party members
123
who elects the speaker in the house
elected by entire house from majority party
124
what does the speaker become when they arent from the same party as the president
'official leader of the opposition
125
what did Ronald Brownstein term partisanship in 2007
'hyper-partisanship'
126
evidence in re-election to congress showing increase partisanship
house-60 of most conservative dems
37 lost 2010 mid-terms
only 2/5 moderate repubs re-elected
127
evidence to show no overlap ideology 2015
susan collins (most lib repub)
Heitkamp(most con dem)
all 54 repubs more con than Heitkamp showing no overlap
128
what has led to increase partisanship
losing centrist members in congress
e.g Arlen Specter replaced by Pat Toomey (repub)
american conservative union rated Specter 43% Toomey 93%
129
parties play an important role in congress YES
committees organised by partys
| impossible be elected without being party member
130
parties play an important role in congress NO
constituents view considered
| ideological factions in both parties
131
how has partinsanship been increased by redrawing district boundaries
re-draw every 10 yrs
make districts into safe seats
e.g only 4/53 house races were competitive in 2011
132
what is classed as a competitve district
when only 10% difference between to parties
133
congressional caucuses
group of members in congress
| together bc they want to advance a certain interest
134
what are the four congressional caucuses
```
house repub
senate repub
same for dem
repubs are call republican conference
democrat=democrat caucuses
```
135
what do the congressional caucuses do
pick leader of the party
| choose party whip
136
what is the name given to smaller caucuses which have grown in numbers recently
congressional member organisations
137
what are the three main functions of congressional caucuses
educate
agenda setting
encourage support for their proposals on the floor
138
give a specific example of a congressional caucus
the tuesday group
50 moderate house republicans
2007 set up own PAC
created to counter-balance no. of
