Unit 5 Flashcards
1
Q
_____________of the Constitution gives more power to the legislative branch than any other branch.
A
Article 1
2
Q
Organization of Congress
A
- Bicameral (two houses)
- Senators serve 6 years and represent the entire state
- Representatives in the House serve 2 years and represent a district
- To pass a bill you need both houses
- Congress begins January 3rd and lasts for two years
- President can call a special session of Congress
3
Q
Membership of the House
A
- 435 members
- Must be appropriated based on population
- 25 years old
- Citizen for seven years
- Legal resident of state
4
Q
Membership of the Senate
A
- 2 senators for each state = 100 members total
- Selected at large
- ⅓ of the Senators are elected every TWO years
- If a Senator dies or resigns, the state legislature can authorize the governor to appoint a person to fill vacancy until the next election.
5
Q
Rules of the House
A
- Political divisions are unavoidable in a democracy
- Political debates stir strong emotions
- Each chamber gets to determine the rules of their proceedings
- The rules for the House are designed to move legislation quickly
- Most work in Congress is done through committees
- House members represent a district of constituents.
6
Q
Lawmaking in the House
A
- All laws begin as bills (start in the hopper - literally a box)
- Speaker of the House sends bill to a committee
- Most bills die in committee
- House Rules Committee is the traffic officers
- How long a bill can be debated
- A quorum of 218 is needed for voting to take place
7
Q
Most Members of Congress are …
Historically, …
Hard to get an ________ out of office
- Incumbent = ?
A
- lawyers (business or banking)
- white middle aged males → becoming more diversified
- incumbent
- elected official who is already in office
8
Q
What is the role of House leadership? What are their six goals?
A
Leaders of the House coordinate the work of 435 people
Leadership has 6 goals:
* Organize party members
* Schedule work
* Make sure legislators are present for key floor votes
* Distributes and collects information
* Keeps the House in touch with the President
* Influence lawmakers to support their party’s position.
9
Q
Redistricting
A
- Census every 10 years to decide equal districts
- Reapportion = the process of reassigning representation based on population
- No malapportionment (divergent ratios of voters to representatives)
- After states find out their new representation, it is up the the state to redistrict (set up new districts lines)
- Gerrymandering may occur
10
Q
Court cases involving redistricting
A
- Baker v. Carr - redistricting is a Constitutional issue
- Wesberry v. Sanders - no malapportionment
- Shaw v. Reno - no racial gerrymandering
11
Q
The Senate at Work
A
- Equal Representation (2 per state, regardless of population)
- Senators represent the entire senate
- Senators don’t always attend sessions
- Rules are more flexible than the House
- Ex: Unlimited debate on bills (can be debated on and off for weeks or months)
12
Q
President of the Senate:
President Pro Tempore:
A
- Vice President (Kamala Harris); presides over the Senate; does not debate, only votes to break a tie
- Longest service member of the Majority party, presides over senate if VP is not there (Patrick Lahey)
13
Q
Majority Leader:
Majority Whip
Minority Leader:
Minority Whip:
In the Senate
A
- Chuck Schumer (D)
- James E. Clyburn (D)
- Mitch McConnell (R)
- John Thune (R)
14
Q
Supermajority (2/3) vote is needed to:
Simple majority of _____________is needed to pass a bill.
When a bill is introduced…
Filibuster = ?
Since the 1960’s…
In the Senate
A
- Approve treaties, Overturn presidential vetoes, Remove federal officials from office if they have been impeached by the House
- 51 votes
- Senate leadership sends it to the appropriate Senate committee, Senate brings bill to the floor by unanimous consent: a single senator can object and slow down or even stop the process on a bill.
- an action taken by a senator or group of senators to prevent a bill from coming to a final vote (“talk the bill to death”)
- a bill that is filibustered is set aside (temporarily) and they move on to other business, as a result: They have become more common, Easier to maintain
15
Q
Standing Committee
A
- Permanent committees that oversee bills that deal with certain kind of issues (ex: Appropriations committee, Armed services committee)
- Both houses of Congress have them and they can add new committees or eliminate old
- The majority party in each house controls the committees and elects the chairperson
- Both parties are represented in committees
- Nearly all standing committees have a subcommittees
16
Q
Joint Committees
A
- Made up of members from the House and the Senate
- Can be temporary or permanent
- Coordinate the work in both houses of Congress
17
Q
Select Committees
A
- Temporary committees that the House or Senate can create to study a specific issue and report their findings.
- Created to address matters of great public concern at a given time:
- Ex: Climate Change
18
Q
Conference Committee
A
- No bill can be sent to the President to sign unless both houses have passed an identical version of the same bill
- Conference committees are temporary and are set up when the House and Senate have passed a different version of the same bill
- Made up of members from both houses, with members of both parties
- Goal is to resolve the difference between the 2 bills and come up with 1 bill to be voted on again in both houses.
19
Q
Choosing Committee Members
A
- Membership on a committee can help and/or define careers in Congress
- Membership on a certain committees can help with reelection
- Ex: Farm state might want to serve on committee on agriculture
- Help influence other members of Congress
- Ex: House Rules Committee
- House members serve on fewer committees than senators
- Chairpersons
- Seniority system
20
Q
Constitutional provisions
A
- The Constitution lays out many important principles, but it is not an exact blueprint
- Founders created a strong executive branch to:
* Carry out the legislation of Congress
* Hold the legislature in check - Legislative powers are found in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution
21
Q
House of Representative Powers
Senate Powers
A
House of rep powers:
* has the power of the purse (ability to tax and spend public money)
* must bring Articles of Impeachment
Senate:
* Has impeachment power over federal judges, Supreme Court Justices, and the President & Vice President
* Can confirm or deny presidential appointments, make laws, declare war, ratify treaties
22
Q
Legislative Powers
A
- Pass laws
- Admittance of new states
- Naturalization laws
- Taxing
- Spending
- Regulating interstate commerce
- Revenue Bills begin in the House
- Authorize and then Appropriate
23
Q
Money and Commerce Powers
A
Expressed:
* Lay and collect taxes
* Establish bankruptcy laws
* Borrow
* Coin, print, and regulate money
* Regulate foreign and interstate commerce
* Punish counterfieters of American currency
Implied:
* The power to support public schools, welfare programs, public housing etc.
* The power to prohibit discrimination in restuarants, hotels, and other public accomodations
24
Q
Military and Foreign Policy Powers
A
Expressed:
* Declare War
* Raise, support, and regulate an army or navy
* Provide, regulate, and call into service a militia, known as the National Guard
* Punish acts committed on international waters and against the laws of nations
Implied:
* The power to draft people into the armed services
* The power to raise, support, and regulate an air force
25
Social and Domestic Powers
Expressed:
* Establish laws of naturalization
* Establish post offices and post roads
* Grant copyrights and patents
* Create lower federal courts
* Govern Washington DC and the federal property in the States
Implied:
* The power to limit the number immigrants to the United States
* The power to collect and deliver mail
26
Other Powers
* Copyright: the exclusive right to publish and sell literary, musical, or artistic work for a specified amount of time
* Patents: exclusive right of an inventor to manufacture, use and sell his or her invention for a specific time
* Remove: Remove officials from federal office
* Appointments: Approve presidential appointments
* Propose: Propose constitutional amendments
* Post Offices: Establish post offices
* Federal Courts: Establish federal courts
27
Limits on Congress
* Article 1 Section 9
* No title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States
* Habeas corpus
* Constitutional right protecting against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment
* Bill of Attainder
* legislative act which declares individuals guilty of a crime and inflicts punishment, often without a trial
* Ex post facto
* law that acts after the fact to criminalize an act that was legal at the time it was committed
28
How does the Executive Branch check Congress?
The Executive branch can veto acts of Congress by the President choosing not to sign the act into law. This allows the Executive branch some control over what laws Congress creates.
29
How does the Judicial Branch check Congress?
The Judicial branch can declare acts of the President unconstitutional, which removes them from the law. The Judicial branch can also declare laws passed by Congress to be unconstitutional in whole or in part.
30
Landmark Court Cases Regarding Congress
McCulloch v. Maryland:
* Was the establishment of the national bank constitutional?
* Can you or your state government tax the federal government?
* Congress had the authority to create a national bank
* Maryland could not tax the national government
Gibbons v. Ogden:
* Does the Commerce Clause give Congress authority over interstate navigation?
* Congress had the power to regulate any commerce over states
* Further defined commerce to include navigation of the waterways
Heart of Atlanta Motel vs. United States:
* Did Congress, in passing Title II of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, exceed its Commerce Clause powers by depriving places of public accommodation of the right to choose their own customers?
* The Court held the government could force the motel from discriminating on the basis of race under the Commerce Clause
31
How does a bill become a law?
1. Congressman introduces a bill
2. Bill is referred to a committee
3. Committee votes on it
4. The other house has to vote
5. Compromise in a vote
6. President signs it
32
Bill
* Topics
* Formatted
* a piece of proposed legislation (before it becomes a law)
* The vast majority of legislative proposals are in the form of bills
* Topics = Bills deal with domestic and foreign issues and programs & appropriate money to various government agencies and programs
* Formatted = Bills are prefixed with H.R. when introduced in the House and Senate, then followed by a number based on the order in which they are introduced.
* Example = H.R.8404
33
Public vs. Private Bills
Public:
* Public bills pertain to matters that affect the general public or classes of citizens
Private Bills:
* Private bills affect just certain individuals and organizations.
* A private bill provides benefits to specified individuals (including corporate bodies)
* Individuals sometimes request relief through private legislation when administrative or legal remedies are exhausted
* Many private bills deal with immigration & granting citizenship or permanent residency
* May be introduced for individuals who have claims against the government, veterans' benefits claims, claims for military decorations, or taxation problems.
* The title of a private bill usually begins with the phrase, "For the relief of. . . ."
* Must be passed in by both houses signed by the president = becomes a private law
34
Joint Resolution Bill
* There is no real difference between a joint resolution and a bill.
* The joint resolution is generally used for continuing or emergency appropriations.
* Joint resolutions are also used for proposing amendments to the Constitution
* Such resolutions must be approved by 2/3 of both Chambers and 3/4 of the states, but do not require the president's signature to become part of the Constitution.
35
Concurrent Resolution Bill
* Must be passed by both houses, but do not require the signature of the president and do not have the force of law.
* Generally used to make or amend rules that apply to both houses to express the sentiments of both of the houses.
* EX: a concurrent resolution is used to set the time of Congress' adjournment
* Can be used convey congratulations to another country on the anniversary of its independence.
* Used for the **annual congressional budget resolution**, which sets Congress' revenue and spending goals for the upcoming fiscal year
36
Simple Resolution Bill
* Addresses matters entirely within the prerogative of one house, such as revising the standing rules of one Chamber
* Used to express the sentiments of a single house, such as offering condolences to the family of a deceased member of Congress, or it may give "advice" on foreign policy or other executive business
* Do not require the approval of the other house nor the signature of the president, and they do not have the force of law.
37
What are the President's Options? regarding bills
1. Sign and pass the bill = the bill becomes a law
2. Refuse to sign (veto) = the bill is sent back to the House, along with the President's reasons for the veto
3. Do nothing (pocket veto) = if Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law after 10 days.
38
Why is it so difficult to pass bills?
* Congress passes only a tiny fraction of the bills that are introduced
* Congress has also become increasingly polarized, limiting lawmakers’ ability to work across party lines to get things done
* Legislators of both parties are voting the party line with greater regularity, making cross-party groups much harder to form
