Chapter 5 Test CoFo

Congressional Redistricting

set up new district lines

If a serious problem arises, then

the President can call Congress back for a special session

how long does a session last?

until the work is complete

Filibuster

"to end" - a method of defeating a bill in the Senate by stalling the legislative process and preventing a vote

The Rules Committee

"traffic officer". Members in this committee have great influence

President Pro Tempore

(majority leader) Senate member, elected by the Senate who stands in as the president of the Senate when the president is not there

Benefits

-Stationary, postage, medical clinic, gym -Allowances for staff, trips home, telephones, and newsletters -Income tax deduction because they have two homes -Pensions and 401K plans

Salary

-around $174,000 a year

Why do major bills often require 60 votes to pass the Senate instead of a simple majority 51?

Because if you don't have 60 votes, someone can filibuster your bill. If someone tried to filibuster and you know that you have 60 votes then you can Cloture Resolution.

Who is the leader of the House?

Speaker of the House

Session def.

a period of time when Congress meets to talk about laws

cloture resolution

a procedure that allows each senator to speak only one hour on a bill under debate

Terms of Office (House)

-2 year terms -elections are held in Nov. of even-numbered years -more than 90% of all representatives are reelected

Privileges

-Cannot be arrested to or from work -Cannot be sued for what they say in the House or Senate

Rules in the House

-House and Senate print rules every 2 years -Rules in the House are aimed at moving legislation through quickly

Representation and Reapportionment

-House based on population(# of rep. a state has) -Senate is equal; 2 per state -every 10 years a Census is taken

qualifications of the House

-Must be at least 25 years old -A citizen of the U.S. for at least 7 years -Legal resident of the state that elects them -Usually live in the district they represent

qualifications for the Senate

-Must be at least 30 -Citizens of U.S for at least 9 years -Legal resident of state they represent

some jobs of the minority leader

-critiquing majority party's bills -keeping minority party united

some jobs of the majority leader

-get support for key bills -steer bills through the senate -coordinate with minority leader

Characteristics of Members of Congress

-nearly half are lawyers -many come from banking, business, or education -Normally white, middle-aged men -slowly becoming more representative

What does the Speaker of the House do?

-presiding officer and its most powerful member -Caucus-chooses speaker -appoints members to committees, schedules bills, etc -3rd in line for presidency

terms

-senators serve 6 year terms -representatives serve 2 year terms

Leadership of the Senate

-the Vice President of U.S. -President Pro Tempore -Minority Party Leader

only ____ run for reelection at a time

1/3

Only ___ to ___ of bills that are introduced ever go to the Full House for a vote

10 to 20%

how many senators for each state

2

What are the similarities and differences between the House and the Senate? In terms of Qualifications (2 examples for each), Rules, Leadership

25 years old-House 30years old-Senate resident of state for 7 yrs-House resident of state for 9 yrs- Senate Speaker of the House- Leader of House The Vice Pres. of U.S.- Leader of Senate anyone can propose a bill- Senate place holds on bills- Senate aimed at moving legislation through quickly- House

Why are rules less formal in the Senate than the House?

Because there are less people in the Senate than in the House

what happens at the ends of the session?

Congress votes to adjourn (bring the meeting to an end)

How do bills move through committees?

Floor of the House --->Committee---->Calendar -all laws start as bills -bill is introduced through hopper -Speaker of House sends it to appropriate committee

when does the first session start?

January of odd-numbered years

What is the difference between redistricting and reapportionment?

Redistricting is to set up new district lines after reapportionment is complete. Reapportionment is the process of reassigning representation based on population, after every census.

The majority party chooses both the majority leader and the Speaker. What are some ways that these positions differ?

The Speaker of the House is the leader of the whole House, the leader of majority and minority party. While the majority leader is only the leader of his/her own party, same with the minority leader. They can only influence their own party.

During redistricting, why might the majority party in a state's legislature want to pack a district? Do you think this practice should be lawful or unlawful? Explain.

They might want to gerrymander a district because they want to make it easier for them to win in the next election. This should be illegal because it is unfair for the other parties.

When the Senate and House of Representatives pass similar but not identical bills on the same subject, what must occur before the bill goes to the president?

They must agree on the exact wording because one is sent to the President, therefore there can only be one copy.

What are the differences between the everyday operations of the House and the Senate.

This biggest difference is that the House has more people than the Senate and therefore has a more formal process and more Rules. It is much more rigid in the House and there is less debate.

Why did the Founders establish a bicameral legislature? What are the advantages of a bicameral as opposed to a unicameral legislature? Explain.

This way the Houses can check each other. Also, some people wanted representation to be equal and others wanted based on population. Unicameral means that it would only be based on population or equal, therefore if it was based on population, then bigger states wold have more influence in government.

Today's filibuster

Today, just a threat of a filibuster affects bills

what is the Senate called and why?

a deliberative body because it deliberates more than the House

Unanimous Consent

a motion by all members of the Senate who are present to set aside rules and consider a bill from the calendar(have ability to vote to suspend rules)

term def.

an assigned period of time for an elected official to serve

Whip

assistant to the party leader (majority or minority) (Major job is to watch how party members intend to vote on bills)

concurrent jurisdiction

authority shared by 2 or more committees over 1 bill

how to end a filibuster

cloture resolution

Bicameral

describes a legislative body that is made up of 2 bodies

Committees

do most of the work on legislation -because of size of the House, committees are more important in the House than in the Senate

Gerrymandering

drawing district lines to give one party an advantage (this is a bad thing)

when are elections held for Senate?

in November of even-numbered years

Minority Party Leader

leader of Minority party

Calendars

list bills that are up for consideration

Majority Leader

the Speaker's top assistant, helps plan party's legislative plan

Reapportionment

the process of reassigning House seats based on the Census -states often have to redistrict their state based on Census

how long does a special session last?

until the problem is fixed

the Vice president cannot ____ in the Senate

vote