legislative branch

Question 1

• there were no black representatives despite 20% of the population being black so they had to reapportion district lines
  Nc drew a district that was majority black and submitted it to justice apartment for review, then added another and it looked wack because they drew on racial lines (racial gerrymandering)
  Voting rights act of 1965 made it so if a state changed its district lines it needed to be reviewed by federal govt
  Case was argued on equal protection clause of 14th amendment,
  shaw’s group argued that the equal protection clause was violated because districts were drawn with only race in mind
  Reno’s group argued that the equal protection clause was NOT violated because districts were drawn with the intention of helping black residents who faced historic discrimination
  Colorblind interpretation- constitution is blind
  Decision: while districts may have been drawn with noble intentions, districts drawn only based on race were unconstitutional for setting a dangerous precedent
  Why it matters: set precedent for for future cases involving racial gerrymandering and the case ruling stands to this day

Answer 1

shaw v reno (1990, north carolina)

Question 2

Supreme court had already decided that questions of redistricting were not justiciable- court had no business ruling on things (political, not justice question) but this changes
14th amendment/equal protection clause threatened (no state shall make/enforce any law that denies a person equal protection of the law under its jurisdiction)
Argument that refusing to redraw the district lines and reapportion representatives was not equally protected with the changes in the populations so therefore it became justiciable

Decision: issues of reapportionment were justiciable and supreme court did have authority to rule on questions of legislative apportionment

Why it matters: established foundation for one person, one vote doctrine (no vote is worth more than another) , altered nature of political representation for us

Answer 2

baker v carr (1962, tn)

Question 3

Based on census every 10 years, district lines are redrawn to reflect most current population numbers
Redistricting must be done in a way that every person’s vote was equally powerful (baker v carr)
Partisan Gerrymandering- districts lines are drawn to favor one party over another
Shaw v reno → racial gerrymandering → redrawing district lines solely on race is dangerous and can disenfranchise minority voters and is unconstitutional

Answer 3

issues of redistricting/gerrymandering

Question 4

hybrid , acts like a delegate if it’s clear the constituents feel strongly about an issue but if not, acts like a trustee
Votes on party lines

Answer 4

politico model

Question 5

Representative feels they are entrusted with people’s faith and can vote to their own conscience, even voting against the will of the people if they believe it’s the right thing to do

Answer 5

trustee model

Question 6

must vote by will of the people, there to represent their beliefs and desires
Especially seen in hor since they need to answer to the people especially when reelection comes up

Answer 6

delegate model

Question 7

opposing parties holding majority in both houses or president is on party and congress is the opposite - significantly slows things down

Answer 7

divisive govt

Question 8

resulting from increasingly opposing ideas, political fighting

Answer 8

gridlock

Question 9

liberals v conservatives represent two different political parties

Answer 9

ideological divisions

Question 10

money from borrowing or raising taxes

Answer 10

deficit spending

Question 11

debated widely, biggest category is human resources, paying federal employees who run the govt

Answer 11

discretionary spending

Question 12

money they must allocate by law ex. Medicare and medicaid

Answer 12

mandatory spending

Question 13

deficit, discretionary, and mandatory spending

Answer 13

factors considered when passing federal budgets

Question 14

i vote for yours if you vote for mine

Answer 14

logrolling

Question 15

funds earmarked for a particular representative’s district

Answer 15

porkbarrel spending

Question 16

provisions to the bill that have nothing to do with the subject of the bill
(usually benefit a certain representative’s district/state)

Answer 16

non germane riders

Question 17

Can be sponsored from either member of hor or senate
Often changes as it’s debated
Once a bill is assigned to a committee, it can be further debated and changed
Once it comes out of the committee, it goes to the floor for a vote

Answer 17

how a bill becomes passed

Question 18

Unlimited debate and filibusters- taking a long time
Cloture rule- move to end a filibuster by means of a 3/5ths vote (60 senators)
Unanimous consent: call to all senators to restrict certain privileges for the sake of getting work done faster

Answer 18

senate regulations for getting work done

Question 19

-discharge petition
- commitee of the whole
- house rules commitee
- conference commitee
- select commitee
- joint commitee
- standing commitee
-

Answer 19

how work is done in HOR

Question 20

remains from session to session, deals with issues that are always present !!!!!!!!1ex. Appropriations committee (senate) - largest and most powerful, debates and make decisions on where federal money is going to be spent. and !!!ways and means committee (hor) which covers various taxation bills

Answer 20

standing commitee

Question 21

senate and hor together. There is a joint committee on library and one on printing, persist over time but occasionally formed presently

Answer 21

joint commitee

Question 22

opposite of standing committee, temporarily formed for a specific purpose *missouri compromise was made in select committee which disbanded after compromise was accomplished

Answer 22

select commitee

Question 23

formed if both houses can’t agree on an identical version of the bill

Answer 23

conference commitee

Question 24

**Constitutional responsibilities of hor vs senate impact how policymaking ensues **

Question 25

gatekeeper for all legislation, determines when votes take place and assigns bills to various committees for debate and revision

Answer 25

house rules commitee

Question 26

relaxes rules for a debate so they can be debated quickly, min 100 hor

Answer 26

committee of the whole

Question 27

it bill gets stuck in committee, house can use a majority vote to bring the bill out of the committee and to the floor for a vote

Answer 27

discharge petition

Question 28

Speaker of the house- house members will always choose this leader, speaker will always be a member of the majority party
Majority and Minority leaders- guides party members in policy making issues and directs debates
Majority and Minority whips- render party discipline and make sure members walk in line with party goals ex. Not showing up for votes

Answer 28

hor leadership

Question 29

President of the senate (vp of the united states)- non-voting member of the senate, votes to break a tie
President pro tempore- member of the majority party, leads the senate when vice president is not present
Majority and Minority leaders- majority leader sets legislative agenda, majority leader controls calendar assignments of bills

Answer 29

senate leadership

Question 30

member of the majority party, leads the senate when vice president is not present

Answer 30

president pro tempore (senate)

Question 31

majority leader sets legislative agenda, majority leader controls calendar assignments of bills

Answer 31

Majority and Minority leaders (senate)

Question 32

render party discipline and make sure members walk in line with party goals ex. Not showing up for votes

Answer 32

majority and minority whips

Question 33

guides party members in policy making issues and directs debates

Answer 33

Majority and Minority leaders (hor)

Question 34

elaborate procedure for who can speak when and how, SPEAKER has power to identify who can speak and who cannot
- SPEAKER makes committee assignments, some more desirable than others

Answer 34

parliamentary procedure

Question 35

IMPORTANT!!!!!!

Power to pass a federal budget (power of the purse)
Power to raise revenue (income taxes, tariffs, etc)
Power to coin money so we have a stable currency and one to use generally
Power to declare war
Power to raise and maintain the armed forces

Answer 35

5 enumerated powers of congress

Question 36

**Implied powers- in elastic clause, used on economical and environmental issues for example

Question 37

100 senators, 2 for each, equally represented, longer terms to be insulated from public pressure, less connected to the people they represent, focus on generalities, at least 30

Answer 37

senator makeup

Question 38

435 hor, not equally represented but every state gets at least 1, number of hor are determined with census every 10 years, at least 25 years old, less likely to form bipartisan coalitions in order to pursue various legislative goals

Answer 38

hor makeup

Question 39

Unique purpose of legislative is

Answer 39

to make law

Question 40

major difference between hor and senate

Answer 40

• hor initirates REVENUE BILLS
• hor initates impeachment procesures and passes articles of impeachment
• senate must confirm major presidental appointments
  -senate tries impeachment officials and APPROVES TREATIES

Question 41

oversight and investigation

Answer 41

important evolutionary powers of congress

Question 42

The Speaker’s most important colleague, whose position is often a stepping-stone to the Speaker’s position. is responsible for scheduling bills and for rounding up votes for bills the party favors.

Answer 42

majority leader of hor

Question 43

move to end a filibuster by means of a 3/5ths vote (60 senators)

Answer 43

cloture rule

Question 44

during the process of evalutating bills, often the congressional committee assigns bill to a subcommittee which gives them a lot of power

Question 45

a bil

a bill stuck in hor or senate committee

Answer 45

pigeonholed

Question 46

• oversight
• public education
• representing constituents within govt
• constitutional ammendments
• electoral duties
• impeachment
• confirmation duties
• ratification
• investigation

Answer 46

nonlegislative tasks of congress

Question 47

congress is given much control over budgetary spending

Answer 47

power of the purse

Question 48

the rules committe can kill a bill by delaying a vote or making it easy for opponents to add “killer ammendments” to it

Question 49

president vetos individual parts of the bill

Answer 49

line- item veto

Question 50

holder of an office/post

Answer 50

incumbent (number of incumbents increased dramatically after serving in congress became a lifetime career)

Question 51

drawing districts of unequal sizes and populations.

Answer 51

malapportionment

Question 52

to give one political party an advantage
over the other with odd redistricting lines

Answer 52

gerrymandering

Question 53

passed by either the House or the Senate, and usually establishes rules, regulations, or practices that do not have the force of law. For example, a resolution may be passed
congratulating a staff member for doing a good job or having an anniversary. Sometimes simple resolutions set the rules under which each body operates.

Answer 53

simple solution

Question 54

comes from both houses, and often settles housekeeping and procedural matters that affect both houses. !!!Simple and concurrent resolutions are not signed by the president and do not have the force of law.!!!!

Answer 54

concurrent solution

Question 55

requires the approval of both houses and the signature of the president, and is essentially the same as a law. Joint resolutions are sometimes passed when the houses of Congress
react to an important issue that needs immediate attention.

Answer 55

joint resolution

Question 56

individual income taxes, payroll taxes, corporate income taxes, and excise taxes.