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Congress test Flashcards

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1
Q

Powers of Congress

A

Representation (voice of the people)
Law making
enforces law, who + $0
Confirmation of presidential appointments
Investigating the operation of government agencies

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2
Q

Powers denied to congress

A

Cant tax exports
Can’t punish someone for a crime when a crime wasn’t committed
Cant just throw someone in jail, can’t declare someone guilty and punish them without a trial
No titles of nobility

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3
Q

Differences Between House and Senate

A

House
435 members (based on pop)
Must be 25 years old
2 year terms
Represents district
Election rate: all every 2 years
Reelection rate: above 95%

Senate
100 members (2 per state)
Must be 30 years old
6 year terms
Represents entire states
Election rate: ⅓ every 2 years
Reelection rate: above 95%

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4
Q

Committee System

A

divide the work, focus on specific areas

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5
Q

How members of Congress are elected

A

HoR
All every 2 years
Elected by voters within your district
Term is 2 years

Senate
⅓ every 2 years
By all voters in your state
Term is 6 years

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6
Q

Congressional demographics

A

Over 50% of members are 60+
Most racially and ethnically diverse group in history
28% of HoR and 12% of the senate are not white
28% of members in congress are women
13 members of congress are LGBTQ
Fewer members of congress have military experience
94% of members have a college degree
Christian is the dominant religion in congress

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7
Q

Constituents

A

people who live in politicians area and are represented by them

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8
Q

Reapportionment

A

when seats in HoR are redistributed following each census

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9
Q

Redistricting

A

break up the states to benefit party

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10
Q

Gerrymandering

A

manipulating boundary lines to benefit one party over another and create SAFE seats.

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11
Q

Safe Seat

A

to maintain party control over that area

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12
Q

Incumbent

A

person who currently holds a political office and is running for reelection

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13
Q

Earmarks

A

money designated for a very specific purpose

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14
Q

Bicameralism

A

legislature has 2 separate chambers/houses designated to create a system of checks and balances.
Ex: congress has HoR and senate.

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15
Q

Enumerated Powers

A

powers written in the constitution

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16
Q

Speaker of the House

A

leader of HoR

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17
Q

Party Caucus

A

meeting of members of the same political party to discuss policies, choose leaders, etc.

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18
Q

Majority Leader

A

leader of majority party in the chamber

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19
Q

Minority Leader

A

leader of minority party in the chamber

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20
Q

Whip

A

party enforcer, both parties and chambers have them. Responsibility = make sure members vote and vote with party

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21
Q

Closed Rule

A

procedure that allows no amendments to a bill during floor debate in HoR, limits debate time

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22
Q

Open Rule

A

allows for unlimited debate and offering any amendments to a bill on the floor

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23
Q

President pro tempore

A

longest serving member of majority party of the senate

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24
Q

Hold

A

when a senator blocks/delays a vote on a bill

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25
Filibuster
trying to talk a bill to death so people can't vote
26
Cloture
how to end a filibuster, need 60 votes in senate
27
Standing Committee
permanent
28
Select Committee
temporary
29
Joint Committee
members of house and senate
30
Seniority Rule
tradition in congress that long serving members get the most powerful positions
31
Conference Committee
members of house and senate, compromise to make process work more effectively
32
Delegate
act as an agent of the people (what do the people i represent want)
33
Trustee
do what's in my best interest
34
Log rolling
trading votes, if you vote for mine, ill vote for yours
35
Attentive Public
people that are paying attention to politics and gov. Issues
36
Discharge Petition
only in house, if you want to get a bill out of committee and onto floor, file a petition which automatically sends in. needs 218 votes
37
Rider
an amendment added to a bill which can be used for pork barrel spending
38
Pocket Veto
president doesn't sign or veto it, does nothing
39
Override
when congress passes a bill into a law even after president vetoed it, by 2/3 votes in house and senate
40
Who draws U.S. congressional district lines and how often are these redrawn?
State legislators draw the lines every 10 years after the census and reapportionment.
41
What’s the difference between redistricting and reapportionment?
Redistricting = where the lines are drawn inside the state Reapportionment = how many seats each state gets.
42
Why is bicameralism important in our Congress?
Bicameralism is important in our congress because it balances the power between the house or senate that prevent them from taking all the power.
43
What are some of the major differences between the different houses of Congress?
senate - 6 year term length 100 members 2 senators per state HoR - 2 year term. 435 members based on state population.
44
Explain who has more power, a representative or a senator.
senator - powers over treaties, presidential appointments, and impeachment trials, also only 100 members
45
What is the most powerful job in Congress?
speaker of the house decide which bills come to vote, leader of majority party
46
Who does the Senate have the power to confirm?
appointments made by the president, federal judges, and cabinet members, ambassadors.
47
What checks does the Congress have on the presidency and the judiciary?
override vetos, with ⅔ vote in house and senate refuse to fund presidential programs impeachment reject/confirm presidential appointments investigate the president's actions.
48
Carefully and explicitly list the steps by which a bill becomes a law.
idea - congressperson, hopper, speaker assign to committee, sub committee, committee hearing, rules/calendar, floor, senate, majority leader assigned to committee, committee, floor, filibuster, cloture, vote, conference committee + vote, bill signed or veto
49
How does a whip keep party members in line?
offer political incentives encourage loyalty by adding peer pressure on them
50
What congressional portion does it take to override a presidential veto?
⅔ votes in HoR and Senate.
51
List ways/places a bill can be killed.
Before it reaches committee (sponsor drops it, leadership ignores it) In committee (refuses to consider it, votes it down) On the floor (house or senate votes it downs, filibuster) Conference committee (conference committee fails to agree) Presidential veto Expiration
52
What power does the Rules Committee have?
The rules committee controls how and when a bill reaches the house floor. Seat rules for debate Schedules bills Controls amendments Effectively block a bill
53
How does a divided government affect the ability of Congress to work with the presidency?
occurs when one party controls the presidency and the other controls 1 or 2 chambers of congress. - Legislation becomes harder to pass, congress could struggles to get ⅔ majority to override a veto - More negotiation is needed - President can us executive powers more
54
What is the relationship between congressional subcommittees & congressional parent committees?
Subcomites report to the parent committee parents committees make the final decision whether to move a bill forward or not parents set the rules for the subcommittee.
55
List some of the powers of the Speaker of the House.
Leads the house Controls agenda sends new bills to appropriate committees runs meetings, keeps order Influences legislation Appoints members Second in presidential line after VP and P
56
Describe and analyze the committee system in the lawmaking process.
study, improve, and filter bills before house or senate votes Bill is sent to the appropriate committee based on its topic Committee decides what to do with it Committee can hold hearings to get opinions on it change, amend or rewrite the bill After review, committee votes to send bill to the chamber with recommendation to pass, amend or reject it
57
Explain why there is more minority representation in the House than in the Senate.
The HoR has more minority representation than the senate because of differences in size, district and election rules. The house has 435 members, each representing a small congressional district in a state. Districts can be drawn to reflect local minority populations which increases the chance that minorities elect someone from their community. The senate only has 100 members which represent the whole state, which dilutes the amount of minorities.
58
List the top five powers of Congress.
Representation (voice of the people) Law making Overseeing bureaucracy (enforces law, who + $0 Confirmation of presidential appointments and treated Investigating the operation of government agencies
59
What is the historical effect of midterm elections on the composition of Congress?
historical effect - big impact on congress that often lead to shifts in power between the parties the reelection to the House and Senate is 95%, doesn't affect congress much bc no one new is coming in
60
Explain why Senators are more likely to be trustees than Representatives are.
term length and representation senators serve 6 years, don't have to worry about voting pressure also represent an entire state, not a specific district, focus on more national interests rather than immediate needs of a small group.
61
List the top considerations a representative makes when voting on a bill.
Constituents opinions Their political parties opinions Personal beliefs Political consequences
62
How have congressional demographics changed over the past three decades?
gotten older (60+) Most racially and ethnically diverse group in history 28% of members in congress are women
63
What is necessary for Congress to use an implied power?
rely on the necessary and proper clause constitutional basis is needed, power must be related to an enumerated power, must be a logical connection between the 2. implied power must be useful to perform a constitutional duty.
64
which chamber of congress can impose taxes
HoR ( all tax bills start their)
65
which chamber of congress can approve treaties
senate (requires ⅔ vote)
66
which chamber of congress an impeach the president/judges
HoR (has power to impeach)
67
which chamber of congress can confirm Supreme Court nominees
senate (requires majority vote)
68
which chamber of congress can the try the president or judge after they've been impeached?
senate (act as jury, ⅔ vote needed to convict)
69
How a bill becomes a law
idea - congressperson, hopper, speaker assign to committee, sub committee, committee hearing, rules/calendar, floor, senate, majority leader assigned to committee, committee, floor, filibuster, cloture, vote, conference committee + vote, bill signed or veto
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