Unit 3: Interactions Among Branches of Government Flashcards
1
Q
Bicameral legislature
A
made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives
2
Q
What is the Senate?
A
- each state is represented equally (each state has two reps and votes)
- new jersey plan
3
Q
What are the requirements for the Senate? How long are the terms? How do they represent the people?
A
- must be at least 30 years old
- six-year terms meaning they spend more time developing their policies
- less connected to the people they represent because there’s only two senators, thus they have to represent a lot more people
- elected at large, meaning they represent a lot of people and everyone in the state votes for them
4
Q
What is the HoR?
A
- each state is represented by population (more populous states have more representation, less populous states have less representation)
- Virginia plan
5
Q
What are the requirements for the HoR? How long are the terms? How do they represent the people?
A
- must be at least 25 years old
- two-year terms
- Closer to the issues that people in their districts care about because they represent a smaller number or groups of people—their districts
- They hold shorter terms, so they have to be more sensitive about their constituents, constantly thinking about reelection
- Less likely to form bipartisan coalitions(groups) in order to pursue various legislative goals because they do not have time for that, and the people they represent has less time
6
Q
How many reps are each state is guaranteed? What is federal cap?
A
- at least one rep
- federal law caps at 435 reps in total
7
Q
Enumerated Powers
A
explicitly listed powers for Congress in the Constitution
8
Q
Implied Powers
A
- given through the necessary and proper (elastic) clause
- the power to pass any law which may be deemed necessary and proper to the execution of enumerated powers
9
Q
power of the purse
A
- the power to pass a federal budget, control the money, and determine where the money goes
- appropriate or designate money for specific purposes
- if they do not have a federal budget, they do not have money to operate for next year
- mandatory spending
10
Q
power to raise revenue
A
- accomplishment through income taxes, tariffs (taxes on goods or imports), etc.
11
Q
power to coin money
A
creates a uniform currency for the nation, determines who’s on the dollar
12
Q
power to declare war
A
branch that represents people responsible for sending people to war
- the one who decides to declare war should be the very branch that is directly elected by the people
13
Q
power to raise and maintain armed forces
A
- given to the people’s representatives instead of the president
- space force
14
Q
Who are in the House leadership?
A
- speaker of the House
- majority and minority leaders
- majority and minority whips
15
Q
Speaker of the House
A
- House members will choose this leader
- always a member of the majority party
16
Q
Majority and Minority Leaders
A
- the majority leader is the most powerful member because he sets the legislative agenda, controls when the bills will be heard, and decides which bills
- guide party members in policy-making
- direct debates
17
Q
Majority and Minority Whips
A
- render party discipline
- make sure party members walk in line with goals
- set the guide post
18
Q
Who are in the Senate Leadership?
A
- President of the Senate: the official head of the Senate
- VP of the nation
- non-voting member; only votes to break a tie
- Pro Tempore
- member of the majority party
- leads the Senate when VP is absent
19
Q
What are Congressional Committees?
A
- smaller groups of legislators who debate and draft legislation that would otherwise be impossible to do in a large group setting
- draft precise language
- specific groups of people handling healthcare, education, budget
20
Q
What are the different Congressional Committees?
A
- Standing Committees
- Joint Committees
- Select Committee
- Conference Committee
21
Q
Standing Committees
A
- remains from session to session
- deals with issues that are always present (health, education, budget, etc.)
- they remain in spite of the fact that Congress changes every two years
EX; Appropriations Committee, Ways and Means Committee, Committee on Health, Committee on education, committee on the environment, committee on the interior
22
Q
Joint Committee
A
- involves members from both House and the Senate
- Ex: Joint Committee on the Library, Joint Committee on Printing
23
Q
Select Committee
A
Temporary committees formed for a specific purpose
Ex: select committee on the Missouri Compromise
24
Q
Conference Committee
A
- formed if both houses can’t agree on an identical version of a bill
- hammer differences in House and Senate bill
25
How does policy-making work in the House?
House Rules Committee
- gatekeeper of legisation: decide when the votes will happen, assign the bills to different committees, have to pass through house rules
- Use of committee of the whole: relaxes rules for quicker debate on bills and amendments
- use of discharge petition: if a bill gets stuck in committee, a majority can vote to move the bill out of committee onto the floor
26
How does policy-making work in the Senate?
- rules are not as strict
- unlimited debate due to their terms
- Filibuster: any type of delay or obstruct or tactic used to stall a bill by talking for a long time (use by senators); they cannot leave the chamber
- Filibuster can be blocked through Cloture: vote of 60 or 3/5th senators
27
What must happen for the federal budget?
- must pass every year to avoid government shutdown before October--if the continuing resolution is about to end
28
What is mandatory spending?
- mandated by law to be allocated
- things that must be spent every year (by law)
- EX: Medicare/medicaid, social security, SNAP, or welfare programs
29
What is discretionary spending?
what the leftover money is for
30
What is deficit spending?
spending money they do not have (by borrowing) beyond means
31
Republicans have become more ___ while Democrats have become more ____
- conservative (right)
- liberal (left)
- harder for the parties to compromise on ideas--ideas do not overlap anymore and they have a hard time talking to each other in a civil manner
32
What two kinds of situations define a divided government?
1. opposing parties hold majorities in both changes of Congress (118th)
2. One party controls the white house while another party controls one or both of the US congress
33
What are the 4 models of representation?
1. delegate model
2. trustee model
3. politico model
4. partisan model
34
delegate model
- believes they must vote with the will of the people
- believes they are there to represent the people's beliefs and desires, not their own
- observed mostly in the House since they have limited terms so they need to be for the people to keep their jobs
35
trustee model
- believes they have been entrusted with the people's faith and therefore must vote according to their conscience
- can vote against the will of the people if they believe it to be the right thing to do
36
politico model
- a hybrid of the other two models
- acts like a delegate when it's clear their constituents feel strongly about an issue
- acts like a trustee if their constituents do not feel strongly
- switch when it's convenient for their reelection chances (mostly in senate)
37
partisan model
- votes along party lines
- more common in recent years due to hyper-polarization
38
redistricting
- occurs every ten years due to the census showing population changes
- redrawing district boundaries after the Census reserved by the State legislature
39
Gerrymandering
- districting to gain a political advocate (benefits one group or party over another)
- bad because they draw around committees where they can predict which parties will vote
- the result is polarized Congress ( parties gain majority in Congress as well)
40
