Congress - P2

Question 1

How is Congress described?

Answer 1

bicameral legislature 
( congress = legislative branch)

Question 2

Which number is the current congress?

Answer 2

January 2017 - 115th Congress

Question 3

What are the two houses in Congress?

How often are they elected?

Answer 3

1. House of Representatives and Senate
2. House of Representatives = re-elected every 2 years
   Senate= 1/3 re-elected every 2 years

Question 4

What is ‘The Great Compromise’ ?

Answer 4

The Senate has equal representation regardless of population size.

Question 5

Give a example showing the ‘Great Compromise’?

Answer 5

California = pop. 39 million = 55 representatives

Wyoming= pop. 585,00 = 1 representatives

BUT SAME NUMBER OF SENATORS

Question 6

What powers does Congress have over the States?

Answer 6

• Anything to do with foreign policy/ declaring war/ maintaining
• Coin and regulate currency
• Constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court

Question 7

What powers do the States have over Congress?

Answer 7

• Broader social policy

e. g. Referendum in California on Affirmative Action

Question 8

Arguments for House of Representatives being more powerful?

Answer 8

• Bigger
• More legitimacy because directly linked to the people
• Power in the day to day running of the country
  ( make more decisions)

Question 9

Arguments for the Senate being more powerful?

Answer 9

• More prestigious/ respected because …
• Higher level of expertise
• Senators often go on to become presidents or have higher roles in government e.g. Obama/JFK
  ( make more important decisions)

Question 10

Describe the 115th congress.

Answer 10

• most diverse in history

- still not representative

Question 11

How many women are there in Congress?

Answer 11

104

Question 12

How many LGBT representatives are there?

Answer 12

7

Question 13

How many minority representatives are there?

Answer 13

102

Question 14

What are the exclusive powers of the House?

Answer 14

1. to begin consideration of money bills
2. to impeach any member of the executive or judicial branches of the federal government
3. to elect the president if the Electoral College is deadlock

Question 15

What are the exclusive powers of the Senate?

Answer 15

1. to ratify treaties negotiated by the president - a 2/3 majority required
2. to confirm many appointments made by the president - a simple majority required
3. to try cases of impeachment - 2/3 majority required
4. to elect VP if Electoral college is deadlock

Question 16

What are the 5 joint powers of the House and Senate?

Answer 16

1. to pass legislation, including the budget
2. to conduct investigations regarding the actions of the executive branch
3. to initiate constitutional amendments
4. to declare war
5. to confirm newly appointed VP

Question 17

What is a conference committee?

Answer 17

Committee set up to reconcile the different versions of the same bill from the House and the Senate

Question 18

What are the main 3 sources of leadership in Congress?

Answer 18

1. the Speaker of the House of Representatives
2. the Majority and Minority Leaders of both houses
3. standing committee chairmen

Question 19

Who is the current speaker of the House?

Answer 19

Paul Ryan

Question 20

Who is the current minority leader of the House?

Answer 20

Nancy Pelosi

Question 21

Who is the current majority leader of the House?

Answer 21

Kevin McCarthy

Question 22

Who is the current majority leader of the Senate?

Answer 22

Mitch McConnell

Question 23

Who is the current minority leader of the Senate?

Answer 23

Charles E. Schumer

Question 24

What are the powers of the speaker?

Answer 24

1. presiding officer of the House (chairs debates)
2. interprets and enforces the rules of the House
3. refers bills to committees
4. appoints select and conference committee chairs
5. appoints majority party members to the House of Rules Committee
6. May exercise considerable influence over the flow of legislation through the House

Question 25

What is the committee system?

Answer 25

The committee system in Congress are made up of different committees which perform legislative and investigatory functions

Question 26

What are the 3 most important Committees?

Answer 26

1. Standing committees 2. The House Rules Committees 3. Conference Committees

Question 27

Give evidence that the legislative process is difficult and complicated/ Congress is inefficient.

Answer 27

Only 3-4% of bills proposed to Congress are actually passed.

Question 28

Give 3 reasons why its hard to pass legislation through Congress.

Answer 28

1. Nature of legislative process means that supporters of a bill must win at every stage, while opponents must only win at one stage to defeat a bill 2. Little party discipline 3. The president is unlikely to have his own party in control of both houses/ often House and Senate are controlled by different parties

Question 29

What are the functions of a standing committee?

Answer 29

1. To conduct the committee stage of the legislative process 2. To conduct investigations within the committee's policy area. This fulfils Congress's role of oversight. [ standing committees are permanent, and members distributed in proportion to the distribution of the parties in the House]

Question 30

What are the functions of the House Rules committee?

Answer 30

1. timetables bills for consideration on the floor of the House 2. it deals with getting bills from the committee stage to the second reading 3. prioritises the most important bills, giving them quick passage to the House floor

Question 31

What are the 4 most important determinations of voting

Answer 31

1. political party 2. constituent 3. the administration 4. pressure groups

Question 32

How is Congress unrepresentative in terms of education?

Answer 32

every senator has a degree

Question 33

How is Congress unrepresentative in terms of wealth?

Answer 33

113th Congress had a net worth of $1 million

Question 34

How is Congress unrepresentative in terms of age?

Answer 34

average age = 60

Question 35

How does Congress oversee the executive?

Answer 35

1. Senate = approval process 2. Senate = impeachment 3. Committees scrutinising government policy