Unit 7 Ap Gov- Congress

Speaker of the House role

- Presides over the Chamber -Decides Points of Order During Debate -Refers bills and resolutions to the appropriate committees -Schedules legislation for floor action -Appoints House members to committees

congressional limits on judicial branch

-can pass an amendment to nullify SCOTUS decision -can establish size of Supreme Court, its appellate jurisdiction, # of judges, structure -impeach federal judges -accept/reject presidential nominees for federal courts(sensational courtesy)

congressional limits on executive branch

-congressional oversight -foreign affairs oversight(War Powers Act) -confirmation of presidential appointments(Senate) -ratify treaties(Senate) -impeachment(starts in House) -"Power of the Purse" -veto override(2/3 majority in both houses)

Senate rules

-do not specify matter jurisdictions for senate committees -Membership is determined entirely by appointments by the Lt. Gov.

presidents and bills

-only sign bills they like -veto bills they hate (need 2/3 of Congress to override a veto) -cannot use line item veto, must pass all of a bill

factors that influence congressional decisions

-party loyalty -pressure groups -campaign contributions -trading political favors -public opinion in home district

When is a 2/3 vote required?

25th amendment (both houses) Proposed amendment (both houses) Veto override (both houses) If no POTUS or Vp is choose. By majority choice by (house or senate) Remove representative or senator (house or senator) Impeachment trial (senate) Treaty (senate)

Filibuster

A procedural practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue.

Logrolling

An agreement by two or more lawmakers to support each other's bills

House Rules Committee

An institution unique to the House of Representatives that reviews all bills (except revenue, budget, and appropriations bills) coming from a House committee before they go to the full House.

Congressional Powers

Article 2 Section 8 of constitution gives the legislature or congress 27 expressed powers. A few are: Declare War Raise and fund army Regulate trade and commerce Levy taxes Borrow Money Investigate activities Impeach President Make laws for execution of expressed powers Many implied powers as well

franking privilege

Benefit allowing members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free

Necessary and Proper Clause

Clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) setting forth the implied powers of Congress. It states that Congress, in addition to its express powers, has the right to make all laws necessary and proper to carry out all powers the Constitution vests in the national government

Framer's Intent of congress & Legislative Process

Congress's primary duty is to pass laws. The legislative process is often slow, just as the framers of the Constitution intended. The framers believed that a slow-moving legislature would be less able to infringe on citizens' rights and liberties.

Who has the power to declare war?

Congress/Legislative Branch

Apportionment

Distribution of representatives among the states based on the population of each state

characteristics of representatives and senators

House- must be 25 years old 7 years since becoming a U.S. citizen Senate- Must be 30 years old 9 years since becoming a U.S citizen

Pork Barrel Politics

Legislation that gives tangible benefits (highways, dams, post offices) to constituents in several districts or states in the hope of winning their votes in return.

election of congress members

Members of Congress in both houses are elected by direct popular vote. Senators are elected via a statewide vote and representatives by voters in each congressional district. Congressional districts are apportioned to the states, once every ten years, based on population figures from the most recent nationwide census

Whips

Party leaders who work with the majority leader or minority leader to count votes beforehand and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to a bill favored by the party.

discharge petition

Petition that, if signed by majority of the House of Representatives' members, will pry a bill from committee and bring it to the floor for consideration.

Congressional Oversight

Power used by Congress to gather information useful for the formation of legislation, review the operations and budgets of executive departments and independent regulatory agencies, conduct investigations through committee hearings, and bring to the public's attention the need for public policy

enumerated powers

Powers specifically given to Congress in the Constitution; including the power to collect taxes, coin money, regulate foreign and interstate commerce, and declare war.

Leadership structure of the Senate

President- VP Official Chair- Pro Temp(most senior majority party) Majority/Minority Leader Whips

Gerrymandering

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

Path of a bill through Congress

STEP 1: The Creation of a Bill Members of the House or Senate draft, sponsor and introduce bills for consideration by Congress. The House clerk assigns a legislative number for bills introduced in the House of Representatives (e.g., H.R. 1001) and the Senate clerk assigns a legislative number for bills introduced in the Senate (e.g., S. 1002). STEP 2: Committee Action Usually, a committee is assigned to study the bill according to its subject matter. Often a committee will refer the bill to one of its subcommittees. The subcommittee may request reports from government agencies, hold hearings so experts and interested parties have an opportunity to offer testimony regarding the issue, "mark up" or revise the bill, or report the legislation to the full committee for its consideration. The full committee may make a recommendation to pass the bill, to revise (i.e., mark up) and release the bill (also known as reporting the bill out of committee), or to lay the bill aside (also known as tabling the bill). STEP 3: Floor Action The bill is returned to the full House or Senate for further debate and approval. At this point members may propose amendments to the bill, add additional text, or otherwise alter the bill. STEP 4: Vote House and Senate members vote on their respective versions of the proposed bill. STEP 5: Conference Committees A bill must be approved by both Chambers of Congress. When the Senate amends and agrees to a bill or a version of a bill that the House has already passed or when the House amends and passes a Senate bill or a version of a Senate bill, the two Chambers may begin to resolve any legislative differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill by way of a conference committee. When the chambers go to conference, the House and Senate send conferees or representatives to bargain and negotiate. The final compromise is embodied in a Conference Report that must be agreed to by both chambers before it is cleared for presidential consideration. The Conference Report will recommend a common version of the measure for approval and will also include statements of legislative intent regarding provisions of the legislation in a Joint Statement of Managers of the Conference. STEP 6: Presidential Action After the bill is passed by both Chambers it is sent to the President for his approval or his signature, which if granted creates a Public Law. When a President comments on and refuses to sign a bill it is known as a veto. A vetoed bill may return to Congress for reconsideration. If the President does not act within 10 days the bill automatically becomes law. If Congress adjourns during the 10 days after the bill is sent to the President and he does not sign it, the bill is automatically vetoed. This process is also known as a pocket veto. STEP 7: The Creation of a Law The Office of Federal Register assigns the Public Law a number (i.e. P.L. 109-1) and the Government Printing Office prints a copy of it. Laws are issued first in slip form or a single publication containing one law. Later it is organized in the order in which it was passed. Finally, it is codified into subject order so that all laws on the same topic fall together.

holds

Senators have power to place HOLD - Indication of disapproval for a bill, strong hesitation will likely lead to a filibuster, a hold allows Senators to be informed of any change in status or action on a bill or confirmation, holds can usually be very powerful/influential, if there are 60 votes: Holds won't stick.

Leadership structure of the House

Speaker of the House Majority/Minority Leader Whips Party Caucus/Conference

Committee Work

The Committee Chair: 3 Ways a committee can kill a bill: 1. "Calendar Schedules": Floor consideration. 2. Conference Committees: To resolve differences. 3. The selection of 1 Special Committee to study major Policy issues. 4. Conference Committee appointments are KEY to duration. 5. 6,190 bills have been introduced, 1,481 have passed, and 51 have been vetoed.

legislative & Executive "tug of war" for power

The Constitution explicitly assigns the president the power to sign or veto legislation, command the armed forces, ask for the written opinion of their Cabinet, convene or adjourn Congress, grant reprieves and pardons, and receive ambassadors. The President oversees federal law execution by directing and removing executive officers. The president may make treaties, which need to be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate, and is accorded those foreign-affairs functions not otherwise granted to Congress or shared with the Senate. Thus, the President can control the formation and communication of foreign policy and can direct the nation's diplomatic corps. The president may also appoint Article III judges and some officers with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. In the condition of a Senate recess, the president may make a temporary appointment.

House Ways and Means Committee

The House of Representatives committee that, along with the Senate Finance Committee, writes the tax codes, subject to the approval of Congress as a whole.

incumbency advantage

The electoral advantage a candidate enjoys by virtue of being an incumbent, over and above his or her other personal and political characteristics

differences between the house and senate

The main features of the House of Representatives are: Proportional representation; Two-year terms: congressmen and congress-women should be directly accountable and, therefore, should be more responsive to popular demands; Congressmen and congresswomen serve the two-year term in a specific congressional district; Representatives have the duty to serve on committees, introduce bills and resolutions and propose amendments; 435 representatives: the House is the largest chamber; Each individual State has a different number of Representatives, depending on the number of persons who live in the State; In order to become a member of the House, representatives must be at least 25 years old, and must have lived in the United States for 7 years - which means that they do not need to be born in the United States; The House is chaired by the Speaker of the House who is a member of the body - even though the Constitution does not strictly specify that this has to be the case; House leadership also includes majority and minority leaders, assistant leaders, whips and a party caucus or conference: the House works in a more organized and hierarchic way compared to the Senate; The House has no say in the appointment of Ambassadors, Federal Judges and Cabinet Members; Limited debate: due to the large number of representatives, there are speaking-time limits that must be respected during the debates; Impeachment: Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S Constitutions states that the House of Representatives "shall have the sole Power of Impeachment;" and All revenue bills concerning taxes must originate in the house with a democratic process. The main features of the U.S. Senate are: Two senators per state: as this body was intended to be the Federal chamber, every State - no matter how little - has the same representation. This means that California and Wyoming have the same number of Senators; Six-year terms, but every 2 years one third of Senators are up for election; The Senate was conceived to be an "insulated" body where treaties and foreign policy could be debated in the style of the Roman Senate but without the constant interference of public opinion. In this way, Senators can decide and do whatever is in the best interest of the country, even if that is not necessarily the most popular alternative; There are 100 Senators - the Senate is the smaller of the two chambers; In order to become a member of the Senate, nominees must be at least 30 years old and must have lived in the United States for a minimum of 9 years - without having necessarily being born in the United States; The Senate is chaired by the Vice President who is not a member. The Vice President has the power to vote to break a tie, but is not entitled to vote to create a tie; The Senate has the tradition of unlimited debate: being the smaller house with an aristocratic tradition, in the Senate there are no speaking-time limits; Senatorial courtesy: due to the aristocratic tradition, when Senators refer to each other, they do not do so by name; Confirmation of Presidential appointments: the Senate has the duty to confirm the Presidential nominations of Federal Judges, Cabinet Members and Ambassadors. In other words, the appointment process only happens with the "advise and consent" of the Senate: if the President does not get the majority of the votes of the Senate, his nominees will not be appointed; With a 2/3 vote, the Senate has the power to ratify or reject treaties that were negotiated by the President; and The Senate assists the President in his role of chief diplomat. The Senate is the only house assisting the President in foreign policy (i.e. analysis of foreign treaties, decisions concerning the initiation or the ending of a war etc.)

Majority and Minority Leaders

The majority and minority leaders have the job of trying to guide certain bills for their parties to get passed in either the House of Representatives or Congress depending on where he/she works. The majority party is the party has the most members and the minority party is the party with the fewest members.

Redistricting

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.

Money Bills

a bill concerned solely with taxation or government spending Must start in the House of Representatives

constituent

a person whom a member of Congress has been elected to represent

cloture rule

a rule used by the Senate to end or limit debate

unanimous consent agreement

an agreement on the rules of debate for proposed legislation in the Senate that is approved by all the members

direct elections of?

election of an official directly by the people rather than by an intermediary group such as the Electoral College

Budget and Impoundment Control Act

established congressional budget committees and the congressional budget office, and gave congress the power to prevent the president from refusing to fund congressional initiatives

divided government

one party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress

Role of Trustee

role played by elected reps who listen to constituents' opinions and then use their best judgement to make final decisions

Role of Delegate

role played by elected reps who vote the way their constituents would want them to, regardless of their own opinions

standing and conference committees

standing committees - permanent committee in a legislative body to which bills in a specified subject area are referred conference committees - temporary joint committee created to reconcile any differences between the two houses' versions of a bill

Reapportionment

the process of reassigning representation based on population, after every census

Germaneness

the requirement that an amendment be closely related - in terms of the precise subject or purpose, for example - to the text it proposes to amend