Ap Us Government Review Congress

Front 1

What is Congress?

Back 1

bicameral legislature responsible for writing the laws of the nation, oversees bureaucracy, builds consensuses, clarifies policy, legitimizes, expresses diversity

Front 2

What is a census?

Back 2

a questionnaire given by the fed. gov. to count population, these results then help formulate the redrawing of congressional district boundaries

Front 3

What is congressional reapportionment?

Back 3

redrawing congressional boundaries, done by each state legislature

Front 4

What is gerrymandering?

Back 4

drawing the district boundaries to give one party an advantage in the future elections

Front 5

What are the requirements to be a Representative?

Back 5

must reside in the district they represent, be a citizen of the state, be at least 25 years old

Front 6

What is 'packing'?

Back 6

isolating minorities into one district

Front 7

What is 'cracking'

Back 7

dividing minorities across many districts

Front 8

What is a guard against legislative usurpation (control of one house over the other)

Back 8

both houses have unique but complementary powers

Front 9

What are the powers delegated to the legislature?

Back 9

taxing, borrowing money, regulating commerce, raising an army, creating and making rules for the federal courts, establishing neutralization laws, establishing post offices, providing for a militia, making any 'necessary and proper' law

Front 10

What is the House Ways and Means Committee?

Back 10

it is the committee that oversees taxing and spending legislation
only the House may initiate tax laws and spending bills, Senate can only amend these revenue bills

Front 11

What are bills of attainder?

Back 11

laws that find people guilty of a crime w/out a trial and sentence them to prison

Front 12

What are ex post facto laws?

Back 12

laws that punish people for actions made before the behavior was made criminal

Front 13

What are two other actions Congress may not do?

Back 13

may not levy export taxes or grant titles of nobility- these same prohibitions apply to states

Front 14

What is oversight?

Back 14

through committees and subcommittes, Congress reviews work of federal agencies- checks the executive branch

Front 15

What is public education?

Back 15

committee hearings and floor debates that increase public awareness of gov. and social problems

Front 16

What is representing consituents within the government?

Back 16

as well as voting on laws, Congresspeople also help constituents in thier dealings with the government

Front 17

Who is the sponor of a bill?

Back 17

the member of Congress who introduces the bill- anyonecan write the bill but only Congresspeople can introduce and sponsor them

Front 18

What is a problem about the bicameral nature of Congress?

Back 18

all bills must pass both houses in exactly the same form

Front 19

What is the House Rules Committee?

Back 19

committee responsible for determining how long a bill will be debated and whether to allow an open or closed rulle for amendments to the bill

Front 20

How can the Rules Committee kill a bill?

Back 20

it can delay a vote or make it easy for opponents to add killer amendments, can also bring bills up for immediate floor vote

Front 21

What are filibusters?

Back 21

they occur when senators speak with no intention of stopping, with an intent to delay a vote on a bill and to tie up the work of the Senate

Front 22

How are filibusters ended?

Back 22

by a cloture, but this requires the votes of 60 members which is difficult to achieve when both parties are evenly represented

Front 23

What are riders?

Back 23

amendments to a bill and they don't have to be related to the bill which allows senators to try to attach pet issues or projects for thier home state

Front 24

What is pork barrel?

Back 24

'pet project' riders designed to bring federal money to a home state

Front 25

What is a conference committee?

Back 25

formed from both houses when the versions of the bills are different, it tries to negotiate a compromise bill

Front 26

What options does a president have for bills?

Back 26

if he does nothing for ten days the bill becomes law w/out his signature, if congress closes w/in those 10 days the president must sign every bill into law (those not signed are 'pocket vetoed'), or he can veto the bill

Front 27

What options does Congress have after a veto?

Back 27

it can make the required changes or it can try to override the beto by a two-thirds vote in both houses

Front 28

What is the line-item veto?

Back 28

introduced in 1996, it gave president power to veto only individual sections of a bill, struck down in 1998 by Clinton vs. New York City

Front 29

What advantages does the majority party of each house of Congress have?

Back 29

majority party holds all the committee chairs and a majority of the seats on each committee, effectively controlling all the business of the committee

Front 30

How is who is the chair decided?

Back 30

the most senior majority party member within the committee is the chair, the most senior minority party member within the committee is the ranking member

Front 31

What is a subcommittee?

Back 31

a smaller group within the committee, often gets a bill and debates about it before it goes to debate within the committee

Front 32

What are standing committees?

Back 32

specialized, permanent committees such as the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Judiciary committee, the Senate Armed Services Committee -20 standing committees in House, 18 in Senate

Front 33

What are joint committees?

Back 33

made up of members of both house and senate, normally used for communicating to the public or for investigations

Front 34

What are select committees?

Back 34

temporary committees organized in each house for some special purpose, usually to carry out investigations

Front 35

What are conference committees?

Back 35

they are temporary, including members from the committees of the two houses who were responsible for writing the bill, to try to reach a compromise on a bill

Front 36

What is a pigeonholed bill?

Back 36

a bill stuck in a Senate or House committee

Front 37

What is a discharge petition?

Back 37

a mechanism to force a bill out of committee

Front 38

Who is the leader of the House?

Back 38

Speaker, chosen by majority party in special election, majority leader keeps party members in line and helps determine party policy, the whips help keep members loyal to the party's legislative agenda

Front 39

Who is the leader of the Senate?

Back 39

the vice president of the US, the senate's president pro tempore is the presiding officer

Front 40

What is jawboning?

Back 40

president trying to influence congresspeople

Front 41

What is logrolling?

Back 41

colleagues trying to help each other out on bills