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68 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Why do people like their congressmen, but not the institution as a whole?
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-they have to be national law makers, they have to represent the needs of their constituents
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Earmarks:
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projects that are designated for their districts- bad when everyone tries to do it in their own district, inconsistent
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British Parlimentary System compared to Legislative branch:
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-house of commons and house of Lords
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Colonies compared to Legislative Branch:
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-colonial assemblies
-assemblies got more power, focused on people's political involvement |
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Continental congress--
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the first national legislature
-articles of confederation |
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Article one gives power to...
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the legislative branch
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Each state has how many senators?
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two
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Senators serve how many years?
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-6 year terms
-1/3 of the seats up for reelection every 2 years |
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How are senators elected:
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17th amendment:
by popular election |
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How are representatives appointed?
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by population
-serve for 2 year terms |
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Senator Qualifications
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30 years old, citizen for 9 years and inhabit the state
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House Member qualifications:
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entire house elected at one time, 25 year old, citizen for 7 years, reside in state
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Apportionment
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the allocation of congressional seats among the states
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how many members of the house?
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435
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Representatives per state?
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Each state must have at least on, then the remaining 385 are divided based on population
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how many people does a representative represent?
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approximately 650,000
(montana rep has over 900,000) |
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Redistricting:
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the redrawing of congressional districts to reflect changes in seats allocated of the states from population shifts
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Who redistricts?
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state legislatures
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Gerrymandering:
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when redistricting becomes outrageously political- challenged in court
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112th congress- senate:
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51 democrats
47 republicans 2 independents |
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112th congress- house:
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242 republicans
192 democrats 1 independent |
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how is congress organized:
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new congress is seated every 2 years- new leaders elected, closely tied to political parties
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Whips:
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vote counters and vote getter-outers
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Spending cuts:
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amount the govt. wants to cut from budget in fiscal year
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debt ceiling
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most debt the country can have
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shut down
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government shuts down all nonessential programs
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Majority leader:
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-elected leader of the party controlling most seats in the house or the senate
-second and authority to the speaker -the Speaker is the Leader in the House -in the Senate it is the party leader |
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Minority leader:
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elected leader of the party with the second highest number elected
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Who is the presiding officer of the Senate?
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The Vice President
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Who is the official chair of the Senate?
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the president pro tempore
-honorary -senior senator of the majority party -Daniel Inouye from Hawaii |
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Committees
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arranged by subject matter
-first stop for all bills -organized by party -Permanent committee is most important |
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Subcommittees:
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allow for even greater specialization
-created in 1816 -1995- republican committee reform |
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Standing Committee:
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continue from one congress to the next- 19 in house and 16 in the senate
-most powerful -discharge petitions |
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Joint Committees:
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includes members from both houses of Congress, conducts investigations or special studies
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Conference Committees;
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joint committee created to iron out differences between senate and house versions of a specific piece of legislation
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Select (or special) Committees:
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temporary committee appointed for specific purpose, such as conducting a special investigation or study
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Appropriation committee
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how money is spent
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Ways and Means:
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tax writing committee
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Rules Committee
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rules of debate
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Committee Chairman:
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-very powerful
-select subcommittee chairs -call and control meetings -call up bills for consideration, refer to subcommittees -control staff and budget -pick conference committee members ---write final versions of the bill |
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Committee membership
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-interest or expertise
-help with reelection --Pork/earmarks: allows reps to bring ohome the bacon |
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Statutes:
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Laws passed by congress
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Codes:
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contains all laws made by congress and collected by topic
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Supplementary Spending bills:
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get by until congress passes budget
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Powers of Congress:
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-spend money
-regulate commerce -create courts -declare war -necessary and proper laws -lawmaking -taxation -bankruptcy laws, counterfeiting, piracy, postal service |
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What is the most important constitutional power of congress?
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-to make laws
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In order for a bill to become a law...
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it must be passed by both the house and the senate
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House vs. Senate:
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house: initiate revenue bills, formal, specialists, tax policy
Senate: advise and consent- international treaties, generalists- broader areas of interest, foreign policy |
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Who can write and introduce a bill?
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anyone can write a bill, burt only a member of the house or senate by introduce it
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How many bills are proposed?
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9,000 per year and fewer than 5-10% are enacted
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Most bills originate where?
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in executive brance
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what three stages mush a bill survive?
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committees, the floor, and the conference committee
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Rule:
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the terms of debate that the rules committee gives to each bill
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Discharge petition:
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gets a bill out of the committee especially if a chairman is against it- a written document that you sign to command the chairman to vote it out- takes majority of members of the house- rare
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Hold:
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if a senator doesn't like a bill, he can put a hold on the bill which says "I want to know in advance when the senate is going to talk about this"- means they are going to oppose it
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Fillibuster:
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one senator gets and holds the floor and can talk as long as he wants to, but he has to talk unceasingly
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Cloture:
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procedure to get around a filibuster, 60 senators have to sign for petition, but then they have to vote and set limit
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how do members make decisions
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interest groups, colleagues, party, staff, political action committees, constituents, caucuses
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incumbent:
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the person who currently holds an office and runs for reelection
-biggest single advantage |
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Key of getting reelected:
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Name recognition!!
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U.S. Term Limits v. Thorton (1995)
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-need a constitutional amendment??
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Personal Staff:
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scheduling, travel, communications, media, research, constituent services
House members avg:17 and Senators: 40 |
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Committee Staff:
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legislative research and bill writing
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Powers of Congress vis-a-vis the president
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funding powers, oversight, impeachment/removal, checks on presidential power
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Congressional oversight of the Executive branch
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review actions, passes laws that sets guidelines, oversight ensures that the bureaucracy is enforcing and interpreting laws the right way
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I.N.S. vs. Chadha (1983)
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struck down the legislative veto
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congressional review
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can veto befor it becomes a law
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Continuity and Change:
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congress at center and presidential power has increased since FDR
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