Unit 2 Ch. 4 Terms (Congress)

Question 1

Where is Congress dealt with in the Constitution?

Answer 1

Article I (first to be dealt with)

Question 2

Congress is a what?

Answer 2

Bicameral legislature

Question 3

What are the two chambers of Congress?

Answer 3

The House of Representatives and the Senate

Question 4

How are House of Representatives people elected?

Answer 4

The House of Representatives
Directly elected by the eligible voters in their districts

Question 5

How long is a House of Representatives term?

Answer 5

Two years

Question 6

House of Representatives Requirements

Answer 6

Must be at least 25 years old
A resident of their state
A citizen of the united states for 7 years
The Constitution did not bar women from holding office, but it barred all but a few from participating in public life

Question 7

Senate terms length

Answer 7

Elected for six year terms
Staggered so that a third are up for reelection every two years

Question 8

how are members of The Senate elected?

Answer 8

In the original constitution, state legislatures elected senators. The Seventeenth Amendment (1913) replaced the indirect election of senators by state legislatures with direct popular election by a state’s eligible voters.

Question 9

The Senate requirements

Answer 9

The Requirements:
Must be at least 30 years old
Citizens for at least 9 years
Must live in the state that they seek to represent
The constitution does not limit the number of terms a given representative or senator may serve

Question 10

The powers of Congress (three broad areas)

Answer 10

Generally fall into 3 broad areas: lawmaking, budgeting, and exercising oversight of the federal bureaucracy and other public officials.

Question 11

Pork Barrel Spending

Answer 11

legislation that directs specific funds to projects within districts or states

Controversial - criticized for putting narrow interests ahead of those of the nation’s voters.

Question 12

Logrolling

Answer 12

combine multiple bills into one to get more votes
You COMBINE so that more people will be like yeahhhh

In 2011, the House of Representatives, led by Republicans, banned earmarks.

Question 13

Earmarks

Answer 13

funds provided by Congress for projects or programs that impose a restriction on/curtail the ability of the Executive Branch to manage critical aspects of the funds allocation process

Question 14

Oversight

Answer 14

efforts by Congress to ensure that executive branch agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments, as well as their officials, are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goals.

May conduct hearings and investigations for this purpose

Question 15

How many members in the House of Representatives?

Answer 15

435 house members (now capped) - 700,000 constituents
Divided amongst POPULATION

Question 16

How many Senators are there in the Senate?

Answer 16

100 (2 per state)

Question 17

What are the steps for a bill to become law?

Answer 17

Introduced by a congress person
Committee Meetings
——-Hearings/Reports
——-Debates
Floor Debate and Vote
Goes to President
——-Sign or Veto (can over ride)

Question 18

Speaker of the House

Answer 18

elected by majority of the house
Third in line of success after VP
If VP and Pres both die then speaker becomes president

Controls the house floor and committee assignments
Big powerful

Question 19

Assistant to Speaker

Answer 19

House majority leader

Question 20

Whip

Answer 20

ensures unity and party discipline
Essentially threatens members of their own party to get hwat they want

Question 21

Vice President (role in Senate)

Answer 21

president of the senate (only breaks tie vote)
They count the votes (scorekeeper) and break ties.
President pro tempore = takes the VP’s place if they are absent
Chosen by (majority party of) the senate

Question 22

Congressional Committees / Subcommittees

Answer 22

Hears bills about specific issues (edu, veterans, budget, environment, etc.)

Investigate impact of the bill (research and testimony)
Give recommendation to the floor (approve or reject)

Question 23

House Rules Committee (star !)

Answer 23

Members chosen by Speaker of the House
Determine what bills will be heard and if amendment can be added

Question 24

Committee of the Whole

Answer 24

Only needs 100 Reps present and easier to pass bills

Question 25

Senate Filibuster

Answer 25

You can speak for as long as you have the floor - it’s unlimited Has rule of unlimited debate (unlike house) Any senator can pleace “hold” on bill to show concerns Senator can filibuster (talk without stopping) to prevent vote Must have ⅗ vote (60 senators) to override filibuster

Question 26

Types of Committees

Answer 26

Standing, Joint, Conference, Select/Special

Question 27

Standing Committee

Answer 27

Normal committees focusing on routine topics Normal committees that always exist

Question 28

Joint Committee

Answer 28

Members of both houses focusing on issue (call attention) They’re investigating together to research an issue / call attention to an issue that they’re both interested in.

Question 29

Conference Committee (star !)

Answer 29

Both houses leadership to resolve difference in bill

Question 30

Select/Special Committee

Answer 30

temporary to deal with crisis or investigate issue

Question 31

Congressional Committees

Answer 31

Reviews legislation and issues about a specific topic

Question 32

Congressional Committees (list)

Answer 32

Ethics (rules for congress) Homeland Security Energy and Commerce Education Transportation and infrastructure Agriculture Foreign affairs Small business Science, Space, and Tech

Question 33

Enumerated/Expressed powers of Congress

Answer 33

Declaring war and providing military funds NOT THE PRESIDENT -- it’s congress!! Passing a federal budget, borrowing money, lay taxes Determine naturalization process Regulate interstate commerce Create federal courts and jurisdictions Enact legislation that is “necessary and proper” to fulfill duty Aka ELASTIC CLAUSE ! Conduct oversight and investigations of executive branch and bureaucracy

Question 34

Mandatory Spending

Answer 34

REQUIRED BY LAW to pay for entitlement programs Social security, medicare (old people) , and medicaid (at or below the poverty line) Third rail - you cant come for it without getting unelected Because old people love voting !!

Question 35

Discretionary Spending

Answer 35

Approved annually for defense, education, infrastructure, erc. Can fluctuate based on economic and tax conditions

Question 36

Models of Representation

Answer 36

Delegate Model, Trustee Model, Politico Model

Question 37

Delegate Model

Answer 37

Emphasizes the beliefs and desires of constituents Will compromise personal beliefs to match those tey represent

Question 38

Trustee Model

Answer 38

Ephasizes the experience and wisdom of the representative Willing to ignore “passions” of constituents and do “what’s right” JFK wrote a book on this Fienstien video - “I’m wise, you should just listen to me”

Question 39

Politico Model

Answer 39

Primarily focused on voting with their political party Combines both of the other models

Question 40

Reapportionment

Answer 40

The change in the # of reps that each state has based on population

Question 41

What is done based on the Census?

Answer 41

of reps changes based on population - States can gain or lose representatives (700,000 per rep.), 435 is set number

Question 42

Redistricting

Answer 42

Redrawing the CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS (done by state legislature)

Question 43

Gerrymandering

Answer 43

Manipulate boundaries to favor one party/ group - crack or pack

Question 44

Lame Duck Period

Answer 44

Period between election and new elected officials taking office Less bills and appointments

Question 45

Divided Government

Answer 45

control of the presidency and one or both chambers of Congrress split between the two major parties

Question 46

Gridlock

Answer 46

a slowdown or halt in Congress’s ability to legislate and overcome divisions, especially those based on partisanship.

Question 47

Bipartisanship

Answer 47

agreement between the parties to work together in Congress to pass legislation

Question 48

Politico role

Answer 48

representation where members of Congress balance their choices with the interests of their constituents and parties in making decisions

Question 49

Trustee role

Answer 49

the idea that members of Congress should act as trustees, making decisions based on their knowledge and judgement

Question 50

Delegate role

Answer 50

the idea that the main duty of a membrr of Congress is to carry out constituent’s wishes.

Question 51

Budget Surplus

Answer 51

the amount of money remaining when the government takes in more than it spends

Question 52

Budget deficit

Answer 52

the annual shortfall when a government takes in less money than it spends

Question 53

National Debt

Answer 53

the total amount of money owed by the federal government

Question 54

Entitlement Programs

Answer 54

a program that provides benefits for those who qualify under the law, regardless of income

Question 55

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Answer 55

the executive branch office that assists the president in setting national spending priorities

Question 56

Cloture

Answer 56

a procedure through which senators can end a filibuster and proceed to action, provided 60 senators agree to it

Question 57

Unanimous Consent Agreement

Answer 57

an agreement in the Senate that sents the terms for consideration of a bill

Question 58

hold

Answer 58

a delay placed on legislation by a senator who objects to a bill

Question 59

Committee chairs

Answer 59

leader of a congressional committee who has authority over the committee’s agenda/processes.

Question 60

Senate Majority Leader

Answer 60

the person who has the most power in the Senate and is the head of the party with the most seats

Question 61

Minority Leader

Answer 61

the head of the party with the second-highest number of seats in congress, chosen by the Party’s members

Question 62

Political Action Committees (PACs)

Answer 62

an organization that raises money for candidates and campaigns

Question 63

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Answer 63

The Supreme Court overturned the race-conscious drawing of a strangely shaped legislative district.

Question 64

Baker v. Carr (1961)

Answer 64

The Supreme Court has the authority to review state redistricting plans, and the equal protection clause requires legislative district boundaries to be drawn to have roughly the same number of constituents under the principle of “one man, one vote”

Question 65

Incumbency

Answer 65

being already in office as opposed to running for the first time // running for reelection as oiooised to running for the first time Incumbents usually win

Question 66

Incumbency Advantage

Answer 66

institutional advantages held bby those already in office who are trying to fend off challengers in an election.

Question 67

Malapportionment

Answer 67

the uneven distribution of the population among legislative districts

Question 68

Minority district

Answer 68

a district in which voters of a minority ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district

Question 69

Partisan gerrymandering

Answer 69

drawing district boundaries into strange shapes to benefit a political party And then more and more like minded people move to those districts

Question 70

Apportionment

Answer 70

the process of determining the number of representative for each state using census data

Question 71

Constituencies

Answer 71

a body of voters in a given area who elect a representative or senator

Question 72

Congress Checks and Balances

Answer 72

Congress is given the authority to declare war, and the Senate to ratify treaties, thus forcing the executive and legislative branches to work together in important aspects of foreign and national security policy. Congress also has a role in the judicial system - has the power “to constitute Tribunals inferior to [below] the Supreme Court” (Article 1, Section 8) and sets the number of justices on the Supreme Court The Senate - using its power of advice and consent - conforms presidential nominees to the federal courts by simple majority. Exercises the same role of advice and consent in the confirmation of most presidential nominees to important posts in the federal bureaucracy, like cabinet secretaries Congress has the power to remove federal officials (president, vice president, members of the bureaucracy, and federal judges) through impeachment.