The legislative branch of government: Congress Flashcards
(39 cards)
What is Congress?
The federal legislature of the USA, composed of two chambers: the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house).
What are state legislatures?
Elected legislative bodies in each of the 50 states responsible for making state-level laws.
What is the House of Representatives?
The lower chamber of Congress with 435 members elected every 2 years, representing congressional districts.
What is the Senate?
The upper chamber of Congress with 100 senators (2 per state), serving 6-year terms.
What is gridlock?
A legislative standstill, often due to divided government, where parties refuse to compromise, preventing laws from passing.
what is an example of a gridlock
- 2011 debt ceiling crisis
- debt-ceiling: limit on how much the gov can borrow to pay for existing obligations.
- split between Republicans who wanted cuts and Democrats wanting clean slate
- gridlock lasted 6 weeks
What is divided government?
When different political parties control the presidency and at least one chamber of Congress.
what is an example of a divided government
- Biden presidency (2021–2023)
- Democrats controlled presidency and Senate
- Republicans took House in 2023.
What is a filibuster?
A Senate tactic where debate is extended to delay or block a vote on a bill.
what is an example of a filibuster
- 2013
- Senator Rand Paul on drone policy nearly 13 hours
What is cloture?
A vote to end a filibuster; requires a three-fifths (60) majority in the Senate.
What is unified government?
When one party controls the presidency, House, and Senate.
What is the committee system?
A structure in Congress to divide workload: includes standing, select, conference, and House Rules Committees.
what is an example of a committee system?
- Senate Judiciary Committee plays key role in assessing Supreme Court nominees
- e.g. Amy Coney Barrett (2020).
What are standing committees?
Permanent committees that consider legislation and conduct oversight in specific policy areas (e.g., Judiciary, Foreign Relations).
What are select committees?
- Temporary committees set up for specific investigations
- e.g: The House Select Committee on Benghazi investigated the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya.
What is the House Rules Committee?
A powerful committee that sets the terms for debate and amendments on bills in the House.
What are conference committees?
Joint committees formed to reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of a bill.
What is congressional oversight?
Congress’s power to scrutinise and investigate the executive branch, ensuring accountability.
What are examples of congressional oversight?
- Watergate hearings (1973)
- Benghazi investigation (2012)
- Trump impeachment inquiries (2019, 2021).
How does Congress perform its legislative function effectively?
- Bills must pass both the House and Senate, ensuring thorough examination.
- committees analyse and evaluate legislation in detail
- Members can debate and propose changes
Arguments that Congress struggles with legislation?
- Few bills become law (3-5%)
- gridlock common
- filibusters delay progress.
- The President can reject bills, and a two-thirds majority in both chambers is needed to override.
What is the power of the purse?
Congress controls federal spending; can approve/deny budgets, shut down gov’t if no agreement is reached.
How effectively does Congress use the power of the purse?
- Effectively: checks president’s spending.
- Ineffectively: repeated shutdowns (e.g. 2018–19).
