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Description
Flashcards by Emily Bevis, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Emily Bevis
over 6 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| Define Gridlock | The failure to get action on policy proposals and legislation in Congress - resulting in Congress looking slow and unproductive. Occurs most often when two legislature bodies are made up of different parties and therefore cannot agree. - e.g. 2018 3 day gov shutdown over the federal budget. |
| Define Bicameralism | Composed of two legislature chambers or branches - e.g. Senate and House of Representatives - Link UK = House of Commons and Lords |
| Define Filibuster | - The act of obstructing and delaying a bill in a legislative assembly by talking for an extensive amount of time. - Used by individuals/ groups to delay bills. - 3/5ths or 60 votes to end - Happens only in the Senate as have right to 'unlimited debate'. - e.g. Strom Thrumond - 24 hours - C.R. act and 2012 Cruz spoke for 21 hours against Obamacare |
| Define Impeachment | A charge of misconduct made against a holder of public office - The President, Judge, Senator, Representative - HOR make accusation and Senate conduct investigation - 1974 Nixon and 1999 Clinton |
| What is the structure of the US Congress? | - Bicameral - 435 members of the H.O.Representatives -100 members of the Senate - No. of Representatives changed every 10 years - due to population growth - Both directly elected - 'great compromise' of Founding Fathers |
| Requirements of becoming member of Senate/House | - House = at least 25 y/o, US citizen for 7 years, reside in state you represent - Senate = at least 30 y/o, US citizen for 9 years, live in state you represent |
| Name 4 Representation models | 1) TRUSTEE model - trust them to make decisions for you - listen to constituents 2) DELEGATE model - elected to vote in way which they are instructed by electorate 3) MANDATE model - implement policies outlined in manifesto - party loyality 4) RESEMBLANCE model - reflect society |
| What representation model is used when voting for a National issue or a State issue? | National Issue = Trustee Model State Issue = Delegate Model |
| Women in Congress | - Constantly under-represented - Gradually increasing - 2016 = House - 20% = 84 = Senate - 23% = 23 - Up from 73 Representatives in 2012 - more female Democrats than Republicans - E.M.I.L.Y list = money to help female political campaigns - Problem stem from lack of female state-level legislators as few to recruit - 2017 = only 24.8% state legislators female |
| Significant women in Congress | - Nancy Pelosi = 1st female speaker of House, 2015 = House minority leader - Lousie Slaughter = 1st female chair of House of Rules Committee - Dianne Feinstein = chair of Senate standing committee on Rules and Administration |
| Ethnic minorities in US Congress | - Under-represented BUT greater reflection in House - African Americans 2015-16 = House, 46 (ALL demo) = Senate, 2 - 2011-12 were 0 in Senate - Obama was only AA Senator when elected - 2017 Congress = 19% of congress = non-white - 39 Hispanics = 8% of HOR and 4% Senate - Greater proportion of white congressmen than in society = 62% of population but 80% of Congress - Diversity problem at state level = only 15 states where 10%+ of legislators = Black |
| Define gerrymandering | - Fed. Courts allowed states to draw own congressional districts to elect more minorities = majority/minority districts - Form of affirmative action where district lines changed so the majority of electorate is a minority = concentrated support - Changes every 10 years after census = each district meant to represent equal amount of state electorate - BUT can also be manipulated to increase a parties chances of election - Reps, 2016 = won 22 new House seats in result to new district lines - "threat to democracy" as districts can be created which don't reflect the states make up at all. |
| Typical profile of a Congress member | Average age --> HOR = 56 --> Senate = 63 Typically former military officers Over half in Senate normally lawyers Most likely white, males as 80% of Congress = male |
| Religion in US Congress | - 92% Christian - 57% Protestant - 30 Jewish in current Congress - 2 House members = Muslim - largely unrepresentative |
| Executive powers of the House (x3) | 1) Money Bills - 'power of the purse' - directly elected so 'direct' decision on $ 2) Impeachment accusation - 19x since 18th century 3) Choose President during deadlock - happened only twice - 1800 & 1824 |
| Exclusive powers of Senate (x3) | 1) Appointment confirmations - 'advice and consent' 2) Foreign Treaties acceptance - 2/3rd majority - e.g 2010, New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty 3) Impeachment investigation - guilty by 2/3rds majority - 1999, Clinton excused on Demo majority |
| Concurrent powers of the US Congress (x5) | - Pass legislation - Override Presidential veto - Constitutional amendments - Declare war - Appoint new VP = only used twice - Ford, 1973 and Rockafella 1974 |
| Explain 'advice and consent' in the US Congress | - Result of US separation of powers - Outlined in the constitution = forms vital checks/balances - Presidents consult with Senate - foreign treaties and executive appointments - Senate committees = Senate Judiciary Committee - e.g. 2016 rejection of Garland and 2017 appointment of Gorsuch - e.g. New START - Strategic Arms Reduction, 2010 under Obama - Stops one branch from making unpopular decision - BUT President can bypass this - 2013 Iran Nuclear Deal = Obama executive order |
| UK Comparison | - Senate = upper chamber and more powerful BUT HOL = less - Only 1 directly elected chamber UK - HOL and HOC not equal in legislature - Members move from Commons to Lords like Representatives to Senate |
| Powers of the House Speaker | - Presiding officer of the House - Interpret and enforce House rules - Refer bills to Standing committees - Appoint committee chairs - Appoint majority party members to House Rules Committee - Power to influence passing legislation |
| Paul Ryan | - 2015 - present - Republican - Chair of Budget House Committee - Not a supporter of Trump = friction - largely conservative = less tax + federal $ - anti-gay marriage and pro-life |
| John Boehner | - 2011-2015 - Republican - bi-partisan approach to legislation - em-powered committees - accused of being 'too friendly' with Obama - annoyed both parties |
| Nancy Pelosi | - first female speaker - 2007-2011 - current minority leader - clashed with Bush over Iraq War - large democratic partisan divide |
| Who are the current Minority and Majority leaders? | House of Rep. = Kevin McCarthy (Majority) = Nancy Pelosi (Minority) Senate = Mitch McConnell (Majority) =Chuck Schumer (Minority) |
| What are the powers and unit of majority and minority leaders? | - press briefings about party policy agenda - a link between Congress and White House - 'director of operations' - day-to-day activity |
| President Pro Tempore | Longest serving member of majority party Currently Orrin Hatch |
| What are the 3 types of committee? | - STANDING committees = permanent + policy specialists - e.g. Judiciary, Foreign Affairs, Budget, Armed Services - SELECT committees = temporary investigations - 'ad hoc' - e.g. 9/11 - CONFERENCE committees = end of legislation process |
| Functions of Standing committee | 1) Review proposed legislation - call witnesses, vote to pass into chamber - split into sub-committees to make judgement more efficient = Space, Science and Technology divisions 2) Investigate policy area - problems? - e.g. 2012 Senate Foreign Relations committee look into Libyan attack on US embassy - 2016 links between Trump and Russia in presidential election 3) Confirm Presidential appointments - e.g. Judiciary committee for Supreme Court = not binding but rarely ignored - Betsy DeVos 2017 appointed 12-11 in committee |
| How important are committees? | They are powerful but don't guarantee success. - Review of appointments = not binding but rarely ignored - Bork 1987 rejected 9-5 committee and 58-42 Senate - can't implement policy - 'die in committee' - some more powerful than others - Judiciary, Armed Services, House Rules - Committee chairs = powerful - who PGs try to have connections with |
| House Rules Committee | - only 13 members -most powerful in House - Responsible for timetabling bills - Pete Sessions = chair committee - Can cause Bills to fail if not timetabled and congressional session (2 years) ends |
| How is a committee chair chosen? | - Always majority party - 'Seniority Rule' - Cannot serve for more than 6 years - introduction of new ideas - arguably weaken committees? - BUT very powerful = spokesmen, budget, agenda, membership influence |
| Passage of legislation through Congress | 1) First Reading 2) Committee Stage 3) Timetabling 4) Second Reading 5) Third Reading 6) Conference Committee 7) Presidential action |
| What are 3 Presidential actions at the end of the legislation process? | 1) Sign bill into law = if want to take credit = big audience to celebrate 2) 'Leave on desk' = knows veto would be overridden, comes law in 10 days = done when does not support bill but knows Veto would be overriden 3) Presidential Veto (different types) |
| What is a Presidential Veto? | - when President strongly opposes - tend to do only when knows won't be overridden = 92% success rate - can use as bargaining threat - less likely if Congress majority is same as President BUT Carter suffered two overrides despite Demo majoirty - Obama 2/12 vetos = overriden - Bush 4/12 vetos = overriden - 'Pocket veto' = not sign before congressional session ends = lost bill - BUT rarely used - Obama/Trump/Bush not used it - Line Item Veto = Clinton 1996 = power to veto sections of a bill BUT deemed unconstitutional in 1998 Court ruling |
| Define 'discharge petition' | - force a committee to pass a bill through to the next stage - reducing amount of bills which 'die in committee'. - Bills automatically come to the floor for debate. - 2017 = HOR members sign for the creation of Independent Commission Bill = establish a commission to investigate Russian involvement in 2016 election |
| Factors affecting how members of Congress vote | - District/Constituency issues - Political party alignment/loyalty - Personal beliefs/philosophy - Administration (of executive) - Interest Groups (PGs) - Colleagues & Staff |
| How does Party affect Congressmen vote? | - Fault lines between Demo. v Rep. - taxation, civil liberties, abortion - Recently = 55% of votes are partisan - 75.8% 'party vote' for American Taxpayer Relief Act, 2013 - President set policy agenda = Obamacare - Disciplined party leadership = congressmen pressure to follow party - Little impact if fractured party levels in different branches of Gov - Democrats 2010 - BUT parties can offer no reward for following party lines = separation of powers - UK CONTRAST - BUT geographical differences within parties |
| Define 'log-rolling' | When Congressmen support each other and trade their votes - give up your vote for a bill for the guaranteed support of them of your bill - e.g. 2014 Farm Bill between speaker Boehner and minority leader Reid = bipartisan support from Demo and Reps - Manipulation of power = powerful members benefit ? |
| How does Constituents affect Congressmen voting? | - Trustee model - Should be the most important factor = often dominated by money/party interests - H.o. Representatives particularly important as re-election every 2 years - Congressmen votes recorded so must agree with constituents if want re-election - 'ear-marks' (later card ) - live in their constituencies (UK contrast) - Difficult to stay in contact with constituents due to geographical - Use of opinion polls |
| Define 'ear-marks' | - 'pork-barreling' - Congressmen getting money for their districts - local projects - secret additions at end of a bill meaning no one left accountable - inserted after committee + floor debate - Tanks - $40 mil. annually for military parts no longer federally supported |
| At what stages can a bill die? | - die in committee - with speaker who refuses referral - filibuster in the Senate - House can vote for bills to be re-committeed - House Rules don't have to timetable them |
| How does administration affect congressmen voting? | - Executive branch administration - links through cabinet or staff members - Elizabeth Dole, 2008 = too high support of Bush - 92% time vote same - Can't bribe congressmen with positions due to 'separation of powers' - UK CONTRAST |
| How can Pressure Groups affect Congressmen voting? | - election funding = PACs - 2016 - NRA = $30m to Trump campaign - keep a record of how Congressmen vote = scorecards or LCV's "dirty dozen list" of votes against environment - Lobbying - particularly committee members - PGs can't guarantee congressmen loyalty as result of other influential factors - PGs offer necessary expertise in creation of policy - AMA and healthcare, US Chamber of Commerce and business |
| How can Colleagues and staff affect Congressmen votes? | - networking between Capitol Hill members - legislation covers a wide range so need large amount of staff for advice - older members seen as mentors - Representatives form same state advise each other as similar interests |
| How can Personal beliefs affect how a Congressmen votes? | - moral decisions are largely personal - some choices match that of party beliefs - Fed. intervention, abortion, taxation, defense spending, |
| Define 'caucus' | Some party ideology crossovers - groups of politicians which group together by ideology not party - Blue Dog Democrats (Conservative) - Tea Party - African Americans |
| Why has congress become more partisan? | - rise of 'Tea party movement' - Republicans keep up with growing conservatism of party members - Redrawn Congressional District Boundaries - lack of desire for a middle ground |
| How does Congress offer oversight and scrutiny of the Executive Branch? | - Constitution doesn't explicitly give congress power of scrutiny BUT does have the power to make laws - therefore need to make amendments and update - Committees = only place exec. scrutinize |
| How effective is Congress oversight? | - Congress only powerful if majority - Republican senate = reject Nuclear Test Ban treaty, 1999 and appointment of Garland, 2016 - Bush had large Republican majority - hero in time of panic after 9/11 - little oversight - Congress keep exec. honest |
| Is gridlock inevitable? YES | - Partisanship = divisive issues - 2016 only one R Senator vote for gov background checks on gun sales to felons. - Appointments = 2017 Gorsuch filibustered against by Democrats. - Divided Gov = between executive/legislative - 2016 Garland rejection - Party alliance = Trumps Healthcare repeal act rejected in Senate by 4 Reps (2017) - Gov shutdown = over spending bills - 2013 shutdown for 16 days - 2018 3 day shutdown. |
| Is gridlock inevitable? NO | - Landmark legislation = overlook partisanship in times of crisis - 9/11 Authorisation for the Use of Military Force - Partisanship = avoidable - Rep 'Hastert Rule' means Rep speaker not bring ill to floor unless majority Rep support. - Role of White House - Obama 2014 bypass congress with DACA exec. order. - Role of Supreme Court = 2015 gay marriage despite Marriage Act rejection in 2011 by Rep congress. - State level change = result of federalism - cannabis legal in Colorado, Cali law to allow non-papered migrants access to driving licence. |
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