Legislative Questions

Describe the hierarchy of leadership in the Senate. Who has the "real power"?

.All of the "real power" lies in the hands of the hands of the majority and minority leaders.

How can the Supreme Court affect a law?

A US Supreme Court majority or plurality decision establishes or upholds a precedent for applying and interpreting federal or constitutional law, to be used by the lower courts in deciding relevant future cases. The Court may also overrule legislation found to be unconstitutional.

What is a filibuster? Why do filibusters only happen in the Senate, but not the House? How can a filibuster be broken?

A filibuster is when a senator takes advantage of the Senate's rules allowing for unlimited debate, and refuses to yield the floor while speaking for an extended period of time. In the House, rules provide for limited amounts of time for each Representative to speak. That aside, a filibuster can be broken by invoking a cloture (a procedure for ending a debate and taking a vote).

Cons of Iron Triangles

A large part of society will pay the cost. Not as democratic-very difficult to penetrate or influence. Voters only have influence over the members of Congress involved, as the bulk of control lies with the interest groups.

What is the basis for representation in the House of Representatives?

A national census (count/survey) done every ten years is preformed-the larger a state's population is, the more representatives it gets. Representation based on population in the House was one of the most important components of the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787.

Joint Resolutions

A resolution passed by both houses of a bicameral legislature and eligible to become a law if signed by the chief executive or passed over the chief executive's veto.

What is an iron triangle?

An iron triangle is most accurately defined as a three-sided, mutually advantageous relationship between members of Congressional Committees, Bureaucrats, and interest groups.

Why are committees an important element in the House?

Bills begin and end in committees as committees participate in hearings from agencies and interest groups.Furthermore, committees help to organize the most important work of Congress considering, shaping, and passing laws to govern the nation.

Joint Committee

For a bill to become law, both the House and the Senate must approve identical versions. When different versions are passed, the leaders create a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the two bills.

Why is gerrymandering so controversial? List the current laws when it comes to regulating redistricting.

Gerrymandering is the deliberate rearrangement of the boundaries of congressional districts to influence the outcome of elections. That being said, gerrymandering could concentrate opposition votes into a few districts to gain more seats for majority in said districts.

Pros of Iron Triangles

It is beneficial to a few people who really need the aid. If everyone in the triangle cooperates, as they usually do, everyone benefits.

Conference Committee

Joint committees consist of members of both houses, usually created to deal with a specific issue.

Select Committee

Select committees are created for a limited period and for a specific purpose.

Identify and explain the precedents from the two Supreme Court case decisions that have ruled on gerrymandering.

Shaw v. Reno: The Supreme Court accused Shaw of redistricting based on race for the purpose of voting, disregarding traditional districting principles. The Rule of Law said that the deliberate segregation of the citizens based on race was a direct violation of the constitution. Vieth v. Jubelirer: Vieth challenged the Pennsylvania General Assembly's map on the basis that the creation of the districts was for the improper use of gaining a political advantage. The court decided that: "Since the process of creating districts can involve many political considerations none of which are enforceable by the courts under any constitutional provision, gerrymandering cannot be brought into a court of law as a justiciable issue."

List some of the differences that distinguish the Senate from the House.

The Senate is both a more deliberative and more prestigious[5] body than the House of Representatives, due to its longer terms, smaller size, and statewide constituencies, which historically led to a more collegial and less partisan atmosphere.

Using the website and your notes, succinctly outline the steps needed for a bill to become law. Include the role of the House Rules Committee, conference committees, and possible filibuster.

The bill is created and introduced and then sent to committees for examination and subcommittees for revision. After the hearing, the necessary changes are made to the bill, voting takes place, After this, a conference committee comes together and work towards an agreement. To conclude, a final decision is made, which the president can veto.

Identify and explain the four options the president can take after Congress has passed a bill.

The four options the president can take includes signing it into law,vetoing the bill, holding on to the bill without signing or vetoing, or sending the bill back to the last House that past it with recommendations for changes.

Describe the hierarchy of leadership in the House of Representatives.

The hierarchy of leadership within the HoR begins with the Speaker of the House, then goes down to the Majority House leaders, to the whip leaders, and then the Minority House leaders. The majority party members and the minority party members meet separately to select their leaders. Third parties rarely have had enough members to elect their own leadership, and independents will generally join one of the larger party organizations to receive committee assignments.

Identify and describe the distinguishing powers of the Senate.

The main powers that the Senate holds are to confirm Presidential appointments such as Supreme Court justices, yo ratify treaties made by the executive branch, and act as a judge and jury in impeachment cases.

Standing Committee

The most common type of committee, standing committees deal with issues of permanent legislative concern.

What happens during reapportionment?

There is a division of the number of State representatives and senators among the State's population in order to create districts with equal sizing (at least it is attempted to create equality).

Public Bill

a congressional or parliamentary bill involving the general interests of the people at large or of the whole community.

Private Bill

a congressional or parliamentary bill involving the private interests of a particular individual, corporation, or local unit

Resolutions

a formal expression of opinion or intention made, usually after voting, by a formal organization, a legislature, a club, or other group

BIll

a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an Act or a statute.

Concurrent Resolution

a resolution passed by both houses of a legislative body that lacks the force of law

Cloture

the closing or limitation of debate in a legislative body especially by calling for a vote